C  73,  />ewt*s 


i!  i 


THE  GETTY  RESEARCH  INSTITUTE  LIBRARY 

Halsted  VanderPoel  Campanian  Collection 


v_  .    |j . 

A   DAY 


ANCIENT   ROME 


BEING  A   REVISION   OF   LOHR'S   "  AUS  DEM   ALTEN   ROM," 
WITH    NUMEROUS   ILLUSTRATIONS, 


EDGAR    S.   SHUMWAY 

PROFESSOR  OF  THE   LATIN   LANGUAGE  AND    LITERATURE,   RUTGERS   COLLEGE 
PRINCIPAL  OF    CHAUTAUQUA   ACADEMIA  OF   LATIN   AND   GREEK 


"From  the  very  soil  of  silent  Rome 
You  shall  grow  wise ;  and  walking^  live  again 
The  lives  of  buried  peoples."— J.  A.  S. 

"Rome  est  cause  que  vous  nctes  plus  iariares,  elle 
vous  a  appris  la  ci^•ilite  et  la  religion." — BALZAC 


NEW   YORK 

CHAUTAUQUA    PRESS 

C.  L.  S.  C.  DEPARTMENT 
1885 


LATINE, 

A  monthly  journal  (in  Latin  and  English)  devoted  to  the  Latin  language  and 

literature,  edited  by  EDGAR  S.  SHUMWAY.   Vol.  I.,  published  by 

the  EDITOR;  Vols.  II.  and  III.,  published  by 

D.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY. 


A  HAND-BOOK  OF  LATIN  SYNONYMES 

(based   upon   Meissner),  by  EDGAR   S.  SHUMWAY,  published  by 
GINN  AND  COMPANY. 


Copyright,  1885,  by  EDGAR  S.  SHUMWAY. 


The  required  books  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  are  recommended  by  a  Council  of  six.  It  must,  however,  be  understood  that 
recommendation  does  not  involve  an  approval  by  the  Council,  or  by  any  member  of  it,  of  every  principle  or  doctrine  con- 
tained in  the  book  recommended. 


Gilliss  Brothers   &  Turnure,  Art  Age  Press,  75  Fulton  St.,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


IF  some  liberty  has  been  taken  with  Dr.  Lohr's  "  Aus  dem  alten  Rom,"  it  has 
been  either  in  view  of  more  recent  excavations  at  Rome,  or  for  the  sake  of 
illustration  or  greater  perspicuity.     Perhaps  it  will  be  pardoned  me  if  I  seize  the 
opportunity  to  press  upon  any  reader  who  is  not  yet  a  student  of  Latin  the  prac- 
ticability as  well  as  desirability  of  an  acquaintance  with  Latin  literature — 

"  Tully's  voice,  and  Virgil's  lay, 
And  Livy's  pictured  page  "- 

and  that  too  not  through  translations  and  special  treatises  alone,  even  if  so 
attractive  as  Dr.  Wilkinson's  admirable  "After  School  Series,"  but  in  the  Latin 
language  itself.  Weighty  are  the  words  of  Schopenhauer :  "  A  man  who  does 
not  understand  Latin  is  like  one  who  walks  through  a  beautiful  region  in  a  fog; 
his  horizon  is  very  close  to  him.  He  sees  only  the  nearest  things  clearly,  and  a 
few  steps  away  from  him  the  outlines  of  everything  become  indistinct  or  wholly 
lost.  But  the  horizon  of  the  Latin  scholar  extends  far  and  wide  through  the 
centuries  of  modern  history,  the  middle  ages,  and  antiquity." 

May  this  little  book  prove  not  only  an  aid,  but  even  an  incentive ! 

Acknowledgment  of  assistance  is  here  made  to  Mrs.  Minna  V.  Fitch,  to  Miss 
Katharine  H.  Austin  for  her  translation  of  Horace's  ninth  satire,  to  Mr.  Samuel 
M.  Otto  of  the  Chautauqua  Academia  of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  to  Mr.  Sherman 
G.  Pitt  and  Mr.  Melvin  D.  Brandow,  students  at  Rutgers  College. 


EDGAR   S.  SHUMWAY. 


RUTGERS  COLLEGE, 

NEW  BRUNSWICK,  N.  J., 

June  17,  1885. 


A   DAY   IN   ANCIENT    ROME. 


XT    Rome   I  often    think  of    you,    and   wish   you, 
too,    might    tread   the    squares    and    streets 
through  which  have  walked  the   Roman   authors 
whose  works  you  are  studying,  as  well  as  the  men 
of  whom  they  speak. 

The  Latin  historians,  orators  and  poets,  from 
Nepos  to  Horace  and  Tacitus,  would  become  much 
more  familiar  and  dear  to  you  if  you  could  see 
where  they  lived  and  wrote.  And,  out  of  the  dead 
letters,  living  forms  would  arise,  if  you  could  read 
them  in  that  place  to  which  they  carry  you  in 
spirit,  that  is,  in  Rome  itself. 
Perhaps  I  can,  in  a  measure,  make  up  for  your  loss  in  not 
being  able  to  see  these  places,  by  telling  you  what  letters  and 
stones  here  have  told  me.  But,  to  follow  me  aright,  you  must 
direct  your  thoughts  (you  know  they  are  always  ready  for  a  flying 
trip  from  the  class-room)  toward  sunny  Italy.  Fancy  you  are  visit- 
ing me  here,  every  one  of  you  ;  whither,  then,  should  I  rather  lead 
you  than  to  the  central  points  of  the  old  city? 

To  take  our  bearings  as  speedily  as  possible,  let  us  go  to  the 
Corso.  This  is  the  most  animated  street  of  Rome,  and  runs  in  a 
straight  line  from  the  Porta  del  Popolo  to  the  Piazza  di  Vene ' zia.  It 


PLAN   OF   MODERN   ROME. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  7 

corresponds  toward  the  north  with  the  ancient  Via  Flamiriia,  and 
toward  the  south  with  the  Via  Lata. 

It  was  once  spanned  by  the  triumphal  arches  of  Marcus  Aurelius, 
Domitian  and  Claudius,  but  they  have  all  disappeared. 

By  this  street  we  cross  the  Campus  Martins  (Field  of  Mars),  the 
great  play-ground  of  the  ancient  Romans.  Here  the  young  people 
ran,  wrestled  and  fenced,  or  played  their  favorite  games  of  ball.  As 
it  is  the  custom  among  the  better  classes  in  Rome  to-day  to  take  a 
promenade  or  pleasure-drive  in  the  Corso  in  the  afternoon,  so  the 
ancient  Romans,  after  business  hours  ("post  decisa  negotia  "),  resorted 
to  the  Campus  Martius.  Horace  is  one  of  the  more  sensible  ones : 
he  goes  to  the  bath  when  the  heat  of  the  sun  becomes  too  oppres- 
sive : 

"  Ast  ubi  me  fessum  sol  acrior  ire  lavatum 
Admonuit,  fugio  campum  lusumque  trigonem" 

"  And  when  the  sunbeams,  grown  too  hot  to  bear, 
Warn  me  to  quit  the  field,  and  hand-ball  play, 
The  bath  takes  all  my  weariness  away." 

Though,  to  be  sure,  Shakespeare  speaks  of  a  more  vigorous 
swim  in  the  Tiber,  at  this  spot : 

"  Once,  upon  a  raw  and  gusty  day, 
The  troubled  Tiber  chafing  with  her  shores, 
Caesar  said  to  me, '  Dar'st  thou,  Cassius,  now 
Leap  in  with  me  into  this  angry  flood, 
And  swim  to  yonder  point  ?  '     Upon  the  word, 
Accoutred  as  I  was,  I  plunged  in, 
And  bade  him  follow — so,  indeed,  he  did  : 
The  torrent  roared  ;  and  we  did  buffet  it 
With  lusty  sinews  ;  throwing  it  aside, 
And  stemming  it  with  hearts  of  controversy." 

—Julius  Ccesar. 

But  serious  matters  were  also  undertaken  in  this  extensive 
"  field."  Here  the  people  assembled  (for  contiones  and  comitid) ;  here 


THE  CAMPUS   MARTIUS. 


they  voted  for  candidates  for  the  office  of  Consul.   Of  the  two  chosen, 

the  one  was  usually  a  man 
of  approved  character,  and 
belonged  to  the  better  class 
of  the  nobility ;  while  the 
other  had  in  attendance  a 
larger  number  of  adherents 
(so-called  clients). 

During  the  time  of  the 
Republic  a  rude  enclosure, 
much  like  a  sheep-pen,  suf- 
ficed to  keep  in  order  those 
who  came  to  vote.  Caesar 
began  to  substitute  walls 
of  marble,  and  Marcus 
Agrippa  completed  them 
("  Saepta  Julia  ").  After 
Caesar's  time,  Agrippa  gave 
this  place  an  entirely  differ- 
ent appearance  by  his  mag- 
nificent baths.  The  public 
buildings,  however,  were 
soon  surrounded  by  private 
houses,  and  if  Strabo,  who 
visited  Rome  in  the  reign 
of  Tiberius,  should  accom- 
pany us  to  the  Capitol  to- 
day, he  would  hardly  recog- 
nize the  Campus  Martins  which  he  described  so  vividly.  Of  all  the 
splendors  which  he  saw,  the  Panthe'on  alone  has  been  completely 
preserved. 

Yet  that  would  well  repay  a  visit  to  Rome : 

"  Simple,  erect,  severe,  austere,  sublime- 
Shrine  of  all  saints  and  temple  of  all  gods, 


MARCUS   AGRIPPA. 


THE   PANTHEON. 


PANTHEON   IN    ITS  PRESENT  CONDITION. 


*****    spared  and  bless'd  by  time, 

Looking  tranquillity,  while  falls  or  nods 
Arch,  empire,  each  thing  round  thee,  and  man  plods 

His  way  through  thorns  to  ashes — glorious  dome  ! 
Shalt  thou  not  last  ?     Time's  scythe  and  tyrants'  rods 

Shiver  upon  thee — sanctuary  and  home 

Of  art  and  piety — Pantheon  !     Pride  of  Rome  !  " 

— Byron,  Childe  Harold. 

Hawthorne  puts  these  words  in  the  mouths  of  his  characters: 
"  The  world  has  nothing  else  like  the  Panthe'on.  *  *  *  The  rust 
and  dinginess  that  have  dimmed  the  precious  marble  on  the  walls  ; 


10 


THE   PANTHEON. 


INTERIOR  OF  PANTHEON. 


THE   PANTHEON.  II 

the  pavement,  with  its  great  squares  and  rounds  of  porphyry  and 
granite,  cracked  crosswise  and  in  a  hundred  directions,  showing 
how  roughly  the  troublesome  ages  have  trampled  here ;  the  grey 
dome  above,  with  its  opening  to  the  sky,  as  if  Heaven  were 
looking  down  into  the  interior  of  this  place  of  worship,  left  unim- 
peded for  prayers  to  ascend  the  more  freely :  all  these  things  make 
an  impression  of  solemnity,  which  St.  Peter's  itself  fails  to  pro- 
duce." 

"  It  is  very  delightful,  on  a  breezy  day,  to  see  the  masses  of  white 
cloud  float  over  the  opening,  and  then  the  sunshine  fall  through  it 
again,  fitfully,  as  it  does  now.  Would  it  be  any  wonder  if  we  were 
to  see  angels  hovering  there,  partly  in  and  partly  out,  with  genial, 
heavenly  faces,  not  intercepting  the  light,  but  transmuting  it  into 
beautiful  colors  ?  Look  at  that  broad  golden  beam — a  sloping 
cataract  of  sunlight — which  comes  down  from  the  aperture,  and 
rests  upon  the  shrine,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  entrance." — Marble 
Faun. 

As  the  soil  has  acquired  such  depth,  we  do  not  notice  that  the 
Pantheon  was  originally  above  its  level  and  was  reached  by  a  flight 
of  five  steps.  The  building  consists  of  a  portico  no  feet  long  by 
44  feet  deep,  which  is  supported  by  sixteen  noble  Corinthian 
columns  of  granite,  36  feet  in  height  (see  initial  letter),  and  a 
rotunda  143  feet  in  diameter,  covered  by  a  dome.  An  aperture  28 
feet  in  diameter  admits  the  light  from  above. 

Narrow  and  crooked  streets  traverse  this  quarter,  now  densely 
covered  with  houses,  and  lead  us  to  the  foot  of  the  Campidoglio, 
as  the  Cap'itoline  Hill  (Mons  Capitolinus)  is  now  called. 

In  the  earliest  times  the  rock  projected  abruptly  into  the  Cam- 
pus Martius.  But  in  the  time  of  Sulla  permission  was  given  to 
build  on  the  Capitoline,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  hill  con- 
tained, besides  its  temples,  a  number  of  private  houses.  This 
explains  how,  in  the  year  69  A.  D.,  the  soldiers  of  Vitel'lius  could 
press' forward  protected  by  the  houses  and  ascend  the  hill  on  which 
the  Temple  of  Jupiter  had  been  built. 


12 


EQUESTRIAN   STATUE  OF   MARCUS   AURELIUS. 


EQUESTRIAN  STATUE  OF  MARCUS  AURELIUS. 


THE  CAPITOLINE   HILL. 


During  the  middle  ages,  not  only  the  private  houses  but  also 
the  temples  of  the  hill,  the  true  monuments  of  ancient  Roman 
power,  fell  into  ruins ;  and  then,  over  these  ruins  in  later  times, 
new  streets  were  opened  to  this  sacred  height. 

By  the  middle  one  of  these  roads,  which  was  constructed  by 
Michael  Angelo,  we  can  reach  the  summit  most  easily,  as  it  has  a 
gradual  ascent.  The  younger  ones  among  you  will,  no  doubt,  first 
hasten  toward  the  shrubbery  on  the  left,  for  there  a  couple  of 
wolves  are  running  impatiently  hither  and  thither  in  a  narrow  cage. 
I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  it  is  only  in  thankful  remembrance  of 
that  good-natured  she-wolf,  who  is  said  to  have  suckled  the  found- 
ers of  the  city,  that  these  innocent  descendants  have  been  con- 
demned to  a  tedious  imprisonment. 

At  first  view,  you  will  all  think  the  Capitol  has  entirely  changed 
its  ancient  form.  But  it  has  merely  assumed  a  modern  garb. 

The  present  Capitoline  Square,  which  is  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  modern  buildings,  and  in  whose  centre  stands  the  antique 
equestrian  statue  of  Marcus  Aure'lius,  has  existed  only  since  the 
sixteenth  century.  There  is  an  in- 
teresting popular  belief  about  this 
statue,  which  was  originally  gilded. 
It  is  fancied  that  it  is  turning  into  gold  ! 

That  there  was  originally  a  valley 
here  is  still  plainly  seen  from  the  fact 
that  steps  lead  from  the  square,  right 
and  left,  to  the  two  summits  of  the 
hill. 

The  southwestern  of  these  summits 
the  ancients  called  Capita  Hum,  and  the 
northeastern  Arx,  or  the  citadel.  Be- 
tween them,  on  the  spot  which,  in  the 
time  of  Livy,  was  still  inclosed  on 
account  of  its  sanctity,  Romulus  is  said  to  have  opened  his  place 
of  refuge  for  outlaws  (Asylum).  In  this  hollow,  in  very  early  times, 


PLAN  OF  CAPITOLINE  HILL. 


14  THE  STORY   OF  TARPEIA. 

was  worshipped,  between  two  groves,  the  god  Ve'jovis.  To  the 
sanctuary  of  this  god  the  homeless,  who  were  to  people  the  young 
city  of  Romulus,  were  allowed  to  flee  to  make  expiation,  and  then, 
cleansed  from  all  past  crimes,  to  pass  through  the  gate  of  the  Pala- 
tine city  (Roma  Quadratd).  There  is  no  tradition  of  another 
temple  between  these  hills.  Perhaps  the  awe  inspired  by  the  stern 
god  Vejovis,  who  once  demanded  even  human  blood  for  atonement, 
was  so  great  that  they  did  not  venture  to  hem  in  his  jurisdiction 
by  other  buildings.  Besides,  it  was  not  easy  to  build  on  the  slopes, 
while  either  of  these  two  heights  was  a  far  more  beautiful  and 
prominent  site  for  a  temple. 

You  remember  that  Tarquinius  Superbus,  after  the  capture  of 
Gabii,  directed  his  attention  to  the  arts  of  peace,  and,  above  all, 
that  he  built  on  the  Tarpe'ian  Rock  the  Temple  of  Jupiter,  which 
had  been  vowed  by  his  father.  Livy,  in  the  passage  in  which 
he  describes  this  (I.  53-55),  designates  the 
whole  southwestern  part  of  the  Capito- 
line  Hill  as  Rupes  Tarpe'iae ;  but,  in  a  nar- 
rower sense,  the  rock  is  a  steep  precipice 
toward  the  south, 

"  Fittest  goal  of  treason's  race, 
The  promontory  whence  the  traitor's  leap 
Cured  all  ambition." — Byron. 

"  OneTarpe'ius  was  governor  of  the  citadel, 
whose  daughter,  Tarpe'ia  by  name,  going  forth 
from  the  walls  to  fetch  water  for  a  sacrifice, 
took  money  from  the  king  that  she  should 

receive  certain  of  the  soldiers  within  the  citadel ;  but  when 
they  had  been  so  received,  the  men  cast  their  shields  upon  her, 
.slaying  her  with  the  weight  of  them.  This  they  did  either  that 
they  might  be  thought  to  have  taken  the  place  by  force,  or  that  they 
judged  it  to  be  well  that  no  faith  should  be  kept  with  traitors ! 
Some  also  tell  this  tale,  that  the  Sa'blnes  wore  great  bracelets  of 
gold  on  their  left  arms,  and  on  their  left  hands  fair  rings  with 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  JUPITER  OPTIMUS   MAXIMUS.  15 

precious  stones  therein,  and  that  when  the  maiden  covenanted  with 
them  that  she  should  have  for  a  reward  that  which  they  carried  in 
their  left  hands,  they  cast  their  shields  upon  her." — Church. 

This  place,  where  the  first  traitress  of  Rome  received  her  re- 
ward from  the  mocking  enemy,  and  whence  afterwards  perjurers, 
thieving  slaves,  and  those  accused  of  high  treason  were  hurled 
down,  has  now  lost  its  terrors.  It  is  no  longer  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  Capitoline  Hill  by  a  wall ;  the  trembling  culprit  is  no 
longer  led  through  the  "  poor  sinners'  "  gate. 

To  be  sure,  the  hill  has  undergone  many  changes  in  the  course 
of  time  through  landslides,  so  that  no  one  can  say  definitely  "  This 
or  that  abrupt  abyss  was  the  grave  of  the  transgressors."  But  this 
much,  at  any  rate,  is  certain,  that  the  ill-reputed  place  lay  on  this 
side  of  the  hill. 

For  once,  while,  to  steal  the  state  treasures  which  were  preserved 
in  the  Temple  of  Sat'urn,  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Forum,  burglars 
were  busy  with  their  crow-bars  at  its  firm  foundation  ;  their  blows 
re-echoed  from  the  perpendicular  wall  of  the  Tarpeian  Rock  near 
by,  and  thus  betrayed  the  presence  of  the  incautious  robbers. 

Livy,  in  his  account  of  the  founding  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter, 
has  already  informed  you  where  to  look  for  that  largest  and  .most 
sacred  temple  of  Rome.  But  at  present  we  need  no  longer  rely  on 
the  written  account  alone  ;  the  stones  have  spoken  louder  and  more 
intelligibly  than  human  tongues. 

In  the  rebuilding  operations  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Capito- 
line Hill,  during  the  years  i875-'/8,  the  foundation  walls  of  the  old 
Temple  of  the  Tarquins  were  brought  to  light. 

The  great  age  of  these  ruins  is  fully  attested  by  the  material 
of  which  they  are  composed,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  used ; 
and  the  fact  of  their  belonging  to  that  temple  is  proved  beyond  all 
doubt  by  their  position  and  mass. 

On  this  spot,  then,  between  his  two  companions,  Juno  and 
Miner'va,  was  enthroned  the  omnipotent  Roman  god  of  empire,  who 
made  this,  his  temple-house,  the  capitol  of  the  world. 


i6 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  JUPITER  OPTIMUS   MAXIMUS. 


THE   DESTRUCTION   OF   THE  TEMPLE.  If 

Here  the  young  Romans  offered  sacrifices  upon  laying  aside  the 
dress  of  boyhood  (the  toga  praetexta) ;  here  the  consuls  entered  on 
the  duties  of  their  office  ;  hither  the  victorious  generals,  after  having 
been  borne  in  triumph  through  the  city,  directed  their  steps  to  ex- 
press their  gratitude  in  the  temple  of  their  mighty  god. 

"  The  Tarpeian  rock,  the  citadel 
Of  great  and  glorious  Rome,  queen  of  the  earth, 
So  far  renowned  and  with  the  spoils  enriched 
Of  nations."  — Milton. 

And  not  only  mortals  sought  here  safety  and  deliverance,  but  even 
celestials,  with  their  sanctuaries,  altars  and  chapels,  joined  themselves 
closely  to  the  supreme  deity — "  Father  of  gods  and  king  of  men." 

This  temple,  which  the  Etruscans  had   helped  the  Romans  to 
build,  just  as  the  Phoenicians  before  had  helped  the  Jews  to  build 
their  temple,  was  burned  down  during  the  civil  wars  of  Marius  and 
Sulla.    But  through  the  provision  of  Sulla  and  his 
friend  CaVulus,  it  was  rebuilt  on  the  old  site  even 
more  splendidly  than  before ;  and,  the  more  Greek 
art  came  into  favor  in  Rome,  the  more  richly  was 
the  temple  adorned  with  statuary. 

Twice  again  Jupiter  was  obliged  to  behold  a 
sudden  and  violent  destruction  of  his  abode. 
Tac'itus  tells,  in  his  "  Histories  "  (III.,  71),  and  with 
the  greatest  indignation,  how  the  Capitol  was  de- 
stroyed in  the  most  shameful  manner  by'the  soldiers  of  Vitellius. 
Sabinus,  the  brother  and  general  of  Vespa'sian,  caused  the  statues, 
although  they  were  the  monuments  of  his  ancestors,  to  be  torn 
down,  that  he  might  use  them  to  barricade  the  principal  entrance. 
The  enemy,  however,  by  side  paths,  penetrated  the  inclosure  of  the 
temple ;  the  fire  seized  upon  the  colonnades ;  the  wooden  gable-ends 
of  the  temple  fed  the  flames,  and  the  Capitol  was  burned  down 
("  clausis  foribus,  indcfensum  et  indircptum  ").  Vespasian  rebuilt  the 
temple,  but  scarcely  was  it  completed  when  it  a  third  time  sank  in 
ashes  during  the  great  fire  in  the  reign  of  Titus. 


l8  THE  ROMAN   CITADEL. 

Under  Domi'tian  it  was  rebuilt  with  more  splendor  than  before ; 
but  this  very  splendor  was  the  ruin  of  the  temple,  for  it  invited  the 
greedy  barbarians. 

The  temple  of  the  Roman  State  hastened  inevitably  toward  its 
destruction,  as  the  bonds  of  the  empire  became  relaxed;  and,  when 
the  master  of  the  house  himself,  the  mightiest  Olympian,  was 
dethroned,  his  temple  fell  into  neglect  and  ruin. 

As  if  to  commemorate  the  overthrow  of  heathenism,  there  stands 
now  on  the  northern  and  highest  summit  of  the  Capitoline  Hill,  on 
the  Roman  Arx,  a  Christian  church,  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
It  stands  on  the  very  spot  where  the  Romans,  in  the  fourth  century 
B.  c.,  erected  a  temple  to  Juno  Mone'ta.  Why  she  was  called 
Moneta,  even  Cicero  could  no  longer  explain  with  certainty.  She  is 
said,  on  one  occasion,  while  a  pestilence  was  raging  in  the  city,  to 
have  caused  her  voice  to  be  heard  from  the  citadel,  and  by  her  good 
advice  or  admonition  to  have  relieved  the  distress  of  the  citizens. 

Such  stories,  however,  were  only  resorted  to  in  order  to  account 
in  an  easy  way  for  the'  name  of  the  goddess,  which  was  already  in 
existence.  Moneta  has  the  same  root  as  moneo  (advise)  and  mens 
(mind),  and  signifies  the  reflecting  or  thinking  one.  Under  this 
name  the  goddess,  no  doubt,  was  worshipped  on  this  hill  in  very  early 
times,  just  as  Jupiter  Sta'tor  was  worshipped  on  the  Palatine — the 
powerful  god  on  the  one  hill,  the  wise  goddess  on  the  other. 

This  hill  was  chosen  for  the  citadel  because  it  greatly  exceeded 
in  height  thte  southern  summit  of  the  Capitoline. 

Within  the  fortification  there  was,  of  course,  no  room  for  sev- 
eral large  temples ;  and  yet  for  convenience  they  united  with  the 
Temple  of  Juno,  which  was  so  securely  situated,  the  arrangements 
for  coining — a  circumstance  which  has  given  the  word  moneta  the 
meaning  mint.  The  fact  that  the  augur  especially  consulted  (au- 
gurac 'uluiri)  the  gods  on  this  hill,  from  which  there  is  an  extensive 
view  across  the  Forum  as  far  as  the  Caelian  Hill,  is  learned  from 
Livy,  where  he  gives  an  account  (I.,  18)  of  the  accession  to  the 
throne  of  the  pious  Numa.  It  is  possible  that  this  auguraculum 


THE    FORUM   AND   A   TRIUMPH.  19 

was  also  a  relic  of  the  prehistoric  worship  of  the  queen  of  heaven 
on  this  citadel. 

Now,  if  we  descend  from  the  Capitoline  by  the  shortest  way  to 
the  Forum  Romanum,  we  shall  have  on  our  right  hand  the  present 
Palazzo  del  Scnato'rc,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  Roman  archives,  or 
Tabularium.  This  Tabularium  was  built  after  the  plans  of  Sulla 
and  Catulus,  the  latter  of  whom  had  restored  the  Temple  of  Jupiter. 
It  connected  both  summits  of  the  Capitoline.  A  covered  colon- 
nade afforded  an  easy  communication  from  the  one  to  the  other, 
and  a  stairway  led  up  -to  the  building,  and  on  through  to  the 
ancient  Asylum.  At  present,  the  entrances  to  the  forum  are  walled 
up,  and  we  will  therefore  content  ourselves  to-day  with  admiring 
from  without  the  "  ancient  and  honorable  "  blocks  of  tufa,  and  the 
arches  of  the  Tabularium.  But  you  will  be  much  more  charmed 
by  the  view  which  we  shall  have  on  our  way  of  the  forum  (Forum 
Romanum). 

This  most  beautiful  and  animated  square  of  ancient  Rome  now 
lies  in  silent  sorrow,  and  only  the  ruins  of  its  former  grandeur 
remain.  Once  so  infinitely  rich,  it  has  now  become  a  beggar,  and 
excites  our  compassion  by  its  threadbare  garments.  Only  the 
proud  remembrance  of  its  youth  remains.  A  wonderful  thing  is 
this  Forum  Romanum.  If  we  contemplate  it  from  our  present  ele- 
vation, and,  as  if  riveted  to  the  ground,  find  that  we  cannot  turn 
our  eyes  from  it,  suddenly  the  solitude  beneath  us  will  become 
alive.  Mighty  temples  arise  from  the  depth  before  our  rapt  gaze, 
and  triumphal  arches  again  span  the  sacred  street. 

Now  the  people,  also,  come  back  to  our  view.  Silently  and 
gravely  the  priests  are  ascending  the  steps  of  the  lofty  temples ; 
the  business-man  hastens  to  the  stall  of  the  money-changer,  and  is 
soon  in  animated  conversation  with  the  greedy  banker.  Thought- 
less idlers  are  sauntering  about  in  the  paved  square,  discussing  with 
important  air  the  events  of  the  day.  But  suddenly  everybody 
turns  toward  the  sacred  street  (Via  Sacra).  The  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Army  (Itnpera  tor\  returning  home  in  triumph,  is 


20 


THE   FORUM   IN    FESTAL   ATTIRE 


THE    CARCER.  21 

approaching  from  the  eastern  hills.  The  procession  is  headed  by 
the  Senate,  who,  in  festal  robes,  have  received  the  conqueror  and  his 
army  at  the  gate  of  the  city.  Next  come  the  trumpeters.  Behind 
these  are  creaking  the  wagons  laden  with  booty  ;  and  here  and 
there  among  them  are  seen,  towering  up  boastfully,  the  litters  with 
the  more  precious  pieces  of  booty  carried  on  the  shoulders  of 
sturdy  men. 

As  the  wagons  approach  the  crowd,  every  man  stretches  his 
neck  to  read,  from  the  tablets  carried  on  high,  what  province  has 
been  subdued,  how  much  booty  has  been  taken,  and  to  whom  the 
costly  weapons  and  coats-of-arms  had  formerly  belonged.  The 
noisy  crowd  becomes  more  silent  on  the  approach  of  the  priests, 
the  bullock  adorned  with  white  ribbons  in  their  midst ;  but  loud 
shouts  of  joy  break  forth  to  greet  the  conqueror  as  he  proceeds  on 
his  way  to  the  Capitol,  clad  in  an  embroidered  toga,  and  borne 
upon  a  triumphal  chariot,  which  is  adorned  with  ivory,  and  drawn  by 
four  horses.  Joy  and  pride  shine  in  the  victor's  face,  because  he  is 
permitted  to  enter  his  native  city  with  such  honor,  surrounded  by 
his  sons,  and  followed  by  his  victorious  soldiers. 

The  procession  is  gone,  the  crowd  has  dispersed,  and  we  awake 
from  our  dream. 

We  now  hasten  down  the  hill  and  take  a  look  at  the  so-called 
Mam'ertine  prison  (Career).  This,  as  is  well  known,  is  the  name  of 
the  Roman  state  prison.  The  upper  part  is  said  to  have  been  built 
by  Ancus  Marcius,  and  Servius  Tullius  is  supposed  to  have  added 
the  lower,  subterranean  part.  At  present,  the  whole  is  covered  by 
a  small  church,  at  the  entrance  of  which  the  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul  are  represented  in  rude  frescoes  languishing  behind  the  bars  of 
the  prison.  A  modern  stairway  leads  us  down  into  the  upper  story 
of  the  prison.  This  is  a  chamber,  inclosed  by  thick  walls,  which 
originally  was  accessible  only  by  means  of  a  rectangular  opening  in 
the  ceiling. 

Of  this  Dickens  says:  "There  is  an  upper  chamber  in  the 
Mamertine  prisons,  over  what  is  said  to  have  been — and  very  pos- 


22 


THE  CARCER. 


PLAN  OF  FORUM  AND  PALATINE. 


sibly  may  have  been — the  dungeon  of  St.  Peter.  The  chamber  is 
now  fitted  up  as  an  oratory,  dedicated  to  that  saint ;  and  it  lives,  as 
a  distinct  and  separate  place,  in  my  recollection,  too.  It  is  very 
small  and  low-roofed ;  and  the  dread  and  gloom  of  the  ponderous, 
obdurate  old  prison  are  on  it,  as  if  they  had  come  up  in  a  dark  mist 
through  the  floor.  Hanging  on  the  walls,  among  the  clustered 
votive  offerings,  are  objects  at  once  strangely  in  keeping  and 
strangely  at  variance  with  the  place — rusty  daggers,  knives,  pistols, 
clubs,  divers  instruments  of  violence  and  murder,  brought  here, 


THE    TULLIANUM.  23 

fresh  from  use,  and  hung  up  to  propitiate  offended  heaven,  as  if 
the  blood  upon  them  would  drain  off  in  consecrated  air  and  have 
no  voice  to  cry  with.  It  is  all  so  silent  and  so  close  and  tomb-like, 
and  the  dungeons  below  are  so  black  and  stealthy  and  stagnant  and 
naked  that  this  little  dark  spot  becomes  a  dream  within  a  dream ; 
and  in  the  vision  of  great  churches  which  come  rolling  past  me  like 
a  sea,  it  is  a  small  wave  by  itself  that  melts  into  no  other  wave,  and 
does  not  flow  on  with  the  rest." 

In  this  cell  were  confined  the  great  criminals,  such  as  parricides 
and  traitors,  for  whom  the  ordinary  prisons  were  not  severe 
enough.  (Sallust,  in  the  passage  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  punish- 
ment inflicted  on  the  associates  of  Catiline,  calls  this  chamber  a 
"  camera  for nicibus  vtncta.'")  But  far  more  dreaded  was  the  cellar- 
like  dungeon  underneath  :  ("  Incultu,  tenebris,  odore  foeda  atque  terri- 
bilis  ejus  fades  «/.")  Of  this  the  stones  of  the  walls  are  so  laid  as  to 
form  a  dome,  each  row  or  layer  projecting  a  little  over  the  one 
below  it.  The  keystone  of  the  dome  has  been  taken  out,  in  order 
to  give  connection  with  the  upper  chamber.  As  there  is,  right  be- 
neath this  opening,  a  well,  it  is  evident  that  this  ancient  vault  was 
built  to  guard  the  well.  The  vault  was  called  Tullid'num,  a  name 
which  signifies  nothing  else  than  "  House  of  the  Well,"  and  denotes 
here  the  well  belonging  to  the  Arx.  But  since  this  traditional  name 
recalled  the  third  King  of  Rome,  Tullus  Hostilius,  it  was  natural 
to  ascribe  to  that  opulent  ruler  the  construction  of  this  as  well  as  of 
the  so-called  Curia  Hostil'ia.  But,  even  if  this  building  had  been 
originally  a  prison,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  why  it  was  built 
exactly  over  a  well.  Tradition  has  it  that  so  great  was  the  im- 
pression made  by  the  preaching  of  Peter  and  Paul  that  the  two 
jailers  and  forty-seven  prisoners  were  converted,  and,  that  they 
might  immediately  be  baptized,  God  caused  this  well  to  burst 
forth !  From  the  time  of  Ancus  Marcius  it  may  have  been  used 
as  a  prison,  especially  since  on  account  of  the  building  placed 
above  it  it  had  become  a  dark  and  damp  hole.  Only  those  con- 
demned to  death,  however,  were  thrust  into  this  dungeon. 


24  THE   IMPRISONMENT   OF  JUGURTHA. 

Here  Jugur'tha  was  starved  to  death.  He  had  been  dragged 
along  in  the  triumphal  procession  of  Marius,  and  the  Roman  plebs 
had  exulted  because  the  crafty  Numidian  prince  had  been  con- 
quered by  Marius,  himself  of  plebeian  birth.  Hardly  has  Jugurtha 
been  led  away  toward  the  prison  from  the  triumphal  procession  at 
the  end  of  the  Via  Sacra,  when  the  infuriated  multitude  rush 
upon  him.  In  spite  of  the  guards  he  is  struck,  his  clothes  are  torn, 
and  his  golden  earrings,  and  with  them  the  flaps  of  his  ears,  are 
wrenched  off.  And  so,  bleeding  and  almost  naked,  he  has  arrived 
at  the  prison.  But  these  executioners  have  no  compassion ;  he 
is  thrust  down  into  the  horrible  dungeon  below.  Well  might 
the  cold  chills  run  over  him  as  he  exclaimed,  "  By  Hercules,  how 
cold  your  bath  is!" 

"  The  victor,  springing  from  his  seat, 
Went  up,  and,  kneeling  as  in  fervent  prayer, 
Entered  the  Capitol.     But  what  are  they 
Who  at  the  foot  withdraw,  a  mournful  train 
In  fetters  ?    And  who,  yet  incredulous, 
Now  gazing  wildly  round,  now  on  his  sons, 
On  those  so  young,  well  pleased  with  all  they  see, 
Staggers  along,  the  last  ?     They  are  the  fallen, 
Those  who  were  spared  to  grace  the  chariot-wheels  ; 
And  there  they  parted,  where  the  road  divides, 
The  victor  and  the  vanquished — there  withdrew  ; 
He  to  the  festal  board,  and  they  to  die."  — Rogers's  Italy. 

To  this  prison,  also,  Catiline's  fellow-conspirators,  who  had 
remained  behind  in  the  city  after  the  departure  of  their  leader, 
were  brought,  condemned  to  death  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of 
Caesar.  Cicero  himself  conducted  Lentulus,  who  had  lived  in  lax 
custody  on  the  Palatine  Hill,  across  the  forum  to  the  prison ;  the 
rest  were  led  by  the  praetors.  They,  also,  were  let  down  into  the 
gloomy  dungeon,  but  a  speedy  death  put  an  end  to  their  lives — 
the  executioners  (Vindices  rerum  capitaliuni),  strangled  them. 

But  I  see  you  have  come  to  feel  quite  uncomfortable  in  this 
Career,  and  I  will,  therefore,  take  you  out  into  the  open  air  again. 


ARCUS  SEPTIMI  SEVERI. 


THE  ARCH  OF  SEVERVS,  WEST   SIDE,  AS  TO  DAY. 


To  be  sure,  if  it  were  the  ancient  street  into  which  we  were  going, 
a  horrible  sight  might  yet  meet  our  eyes.  For  hard  by  the  Career 
was  the  so-called  "  stairway  of  groans  "  (Scalae  gemonianae),  on  which 
the  bodies  of  executed  criminals  were  exposed,  so  that  the  whole 
Roman  forum  might  see  them,  and  the  sight  inspire  great  but 
wholesome  horror  ("  magno  cum  horrorc")  It  was  here  that  the 
miserable  Vitellius  fell  in  his  vain  flight.  In  order  to  reach  the 
forum  from  this  side,  we  must  descend  a  temporary  flight  of  wooden 
stairs.  Turning  to  the  right  now,  we  look  through  the  middle  one 
of  the  three  triumphal  portals  of  the  arch  (Arcus  triinnphalis)  of 
Septimius  Seve'rus.  This  somewhat  clumsy  edifice  was  erected  in 
the  year  203  A.  D.,  to  commemorate  the  victories  of  this  emperor 


26 


CARACALLA. 


CARACALLA. 


over  the  Parthians.  The  large  middle  archway  communicates  with 
each  of  the  smaller  ones  by  still  smaller  arches  inside.  It  was 
probably  built  over  a  street.  It  stands  so  high  above  the  original 
level  of  the  forum  that  the  side  arches  had  to  be  reached  by 
seven  steps.  When  still  adorned  with  all  its  decorations  it 
must,  it  is  true,  have  been  much  finer.  Above  the  main 
passage  there  was  a  long  inscription,  in  metal  letters,  rehearsing 
the  achievements  of  the  imperial  family.  (In  the  fourth  line  we 
now  read,  "  OPTIMIS'  FORTISSIMISQUE  PRINCIPIBUS." 
But  originally,  as  we  may  conclude  from  the  marks  left  of  the 
fastenings  of  the  letters,  it  must  have  read,  "  P.  SEPTIMIO  GETAE 
NOBILISSIMO  CAESARI  OPT.") 

But  when,  after  his  father's  death,  Caracalla  had  glutted  his 
hatred  of  his  brother  Geta,  by  making  away  with  him,  he  caused 
his  odious  name  to  be  removed  from  this  monument  of  victory, 
on  the  pretense  that  it  was  too  shocking  ^  to  be  continually 


TEMPLUM   CONCORDIAE.  27 

reminded  of  his  dead  brother.  Trophies  were  fastened  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  inscription,  and  above  the  arch  there  stood 
a  gilded  chariot  drawn  by  six  horses  (Currus  sejugis),  seemingly  in 
triumphant  course,  in  which  was  the  emperor,  crowned  by  a 
Victoria.  Close  to  the  triumphal  chariot  marched  Caracalla  and 
Geta,  whom  their  father  had  permitted  to  share  alike  the  glory  of 
the  house.  At  the  corners  of  the  top,  at  present  so  bare,  were 
placed  equestrian  statues,  so  that  the  whole  may  well  have  pro- 
duced an  imposing  impression. 

We  now  enter  the  middle  portal  of  the  arch  to  escape  the 
Italian  November  sun,  and  have  before  us  the  colossal  substructure 
of  the  Temple  of  Concord  (Templum  Concordiae).  The  earliest 
building  was  vowed  367  B.  c.  by  Camillus  the  Dictator,  in  gratitude 
for  the  restoration  of  union  of  the  Patricians  and  Plebeians.  After 
Camillus's  death  it  was  constructed  by  the  Senate  and  people. 
But,  by  such  a  nod  of  Nemesis  as  caused  the  first  battle  of  our 
revolution  to  be  fought  at  Concord,  this  temple,  immediately  after 
the  slaughter  of  Caius  Gracchus  and  3,000  of  his  followers,  was 
dedicated  by  their  butcher,  Opimius,  to  Concord ! !  Falling 
into  decay,  it  was  renovated  and  enlarged  by  Tiberius,  in  com- 
pliance with  Augustus's  wish.  Even  in  the  times  of  the  Republic 
it  was  a  spacious  temple,  as  the  Senate  oftentimes  assembled  here. 
The  splendor  of  the  pillars,  indeed,  has  passed  away,  but  still  we 
distinctly  make  out  stairs  ascending  in  terraces  and  leading  to  an 
ante-structure,  behind  which  the  broad  temple  projected  on  both 
sides. 

In  it  the  Senate  had  convened  in  crowded  assembly  on  that 
memorable  3d  of  December,  when  Cicero  held  in  his  hand  the 
evidence  against  the  Catilinarian  conspirators,  obtained  through 
the  ambassadors  of  the  All&b'roges.  The  conference  lasted  until 
evening.  Impatiently  the  populace  streamed  up  and  down  before 
the  stairs  of  the  temple,  when  at  last  the  Consul,  emerging  from 
the  mysterious  interior  (cello)  of  the  temple,  informed  the  appre- 
hensive citizens  (Quirl'tes)  that  he  had  removed  the  impending 


28 


CICERO'S   THIRD   ORATION   AGAINST   CATILINE. 


MARCUS  TULLIOS  CICERO. 


danger.  "  But  not  I  myself  have  accomplished  this — that  were 
saying  too  much — nay,  Jove  on  high  hath  withstood.  He  it  is  that 
desired  to  see  saved  his  capitol,  these  temples  here — ay,  the  entire 
city,  and  all  of  you." 

Imagine  for  a  moment  that,  with  the  Roman  citizens,  you  had 
been  fearing  for  your  lives  and  property ;  that  you  had  already  seen 
in  your  minds  the  houses  of  the  city  in  flames  :  would  not  that 
man  whose  majestic  form  shone  down  from  above  into  the  dusk  of 
evening  like  that  of  a  god,  who  so  calmly,  and  yet  inspired  with  the 


WEST   END    FORUM    IX    TIME   OF    DOMITIAN 


30  THE    UMBILICUS. 

joy  of  victory,  was  speaking  to  you — would  not  he  necessarily 
appear  to  you  a  savior,  a  father  of  his  fatherland  (Pater  patrice)? 
Probably  you  would  not  have  suffered  yourselves  to  be  sent  home 
with  soothing  words ;  you,  too,  as  brave  quirites,  would  have 
lighted  torches  and  formed  an  escort  of  honor  for  the  deliverer  of 
the  city. 

Just  at  the  side  of  the  left-hand  portal  there  has  been  brought 
to  light  a  cone-shaped  brick  structure,  which  evidently  served  as 


WEST  FORUM,  TIME  OF  SEVERUS. 


a  basis  for  something.  Probably  the  Umbili'cus,  an  imitation  of  the 
Delphic  Omphalos  ('0/^a^oc),  stood  in  this  place.  (The  '  Opyakos 
was  a  white  stone  in  the  form  of  a  truncated  cone,  standing  near 
Apollo's  altar,  and  considered  by  the  Greeks  as  the  centre  of  the 
world.)  The  Roman  Emperor,  in  order  that  the  Romans  might 
become  cognizant  of  their  high  position  in  the  world,  located  the 
centre  of  his  empire  at  the  Umbili'cus,  by  which  the  people  daily 
passed. 


THE  GOLDEN    MILESTONE.      THE  GRAECOSTASIS.  3! 

Below  the  Temple  of  Saturn  stood  the  golden  milestone  (Milli- 
d'riutn  Aurcuni),  erected  by  Augustus  in  25  B.  c.  Not  of  stone,  but 
of  gilt  bronze,  it  gleamed  forth  from  its  elevated  standpoint  over 
the  entire  forum.  The  names  and  distances  of  the  different  gates 
of  the  city  were  marked  upon  it,  while  the  centre  itself  of  the 
empire  was  represented  by  the  umbilicus. 

Upon  the  platform  (the  Graecostasis),  erected  between  these  two 
foreign  ambassadors,  during  the  empire,  used  to  listen  to  the 
orations  addressed  to  the  people  from  the  speakers'  platform  lying 
directly  in  front. 

The  Gracco  stasis  was  built  of  immense  blocks  of  tufa  with 
portions  of  harder  stone — an  evidence  of  early  construction.  It  was 
also  embellished  with  marble.  You  must  not  confound  the  most 
ancient  Rostra  with  the  Rostra  here.  The  former  stood  on  the 
Comitium,  to  the  north  of  the  forum. 

"  The  forum,  where  the  immortal  accents  glow, 
And  still  the  eloquent  air  breathes — burns  with  Cicero." — Byron. 

But  that  place  had  long  since  become  too  small  for  the  public 
meetings,  and  Augustus  therefore  removed  the  Rostra  to  the  west- 
ern end  of  the  forum,  where  the  orators  had  a  vast  expanse  before 
them. 

The   Via   Sacra  terminates  at    the  Millid'rium  Aureum,  to   be 
continued  by  the  only  highway  leading  to  the  Capitoline  Hill — t.  e.,' 
the  Cllvus  Capitoll'nus.    This  highway  was  among  the  first  in  Rome 
to  be  paved,  174  B.  c. 

If  we  follow  this  ancient  road,  we  have,  to  the  left,  one  of  the 
most  stupendous  ruins,  situated  at  the  upper  end  of  the  forum.  I 
mean  the  substructure  cf  Saturn's  Temple,  with  its  eight  Ionic 
columns  still  standing.  These,  as  well  as  the  entire  decorations, 
date  back  to  a  restoration  that  was  undertaken  in  the  third  century 
of  the  Christian  era.  The  lower  part  of  the  temple,  as  is  well 
known,  was  used  for  the  treasury.  Its  lofty  and  firm  walls  are 
doubtless  of  great  antiquity.  Tradition  ascribes  this  edifice,  and 


TEMPLE  OF  SATURN. 


TEMPLE  OF  VESPASIAN. 


the  introduction  of  the  festivities  in  honor  of  the  god  Saturn 
(Saturnd'lia)  to  Tullus  Hostilius.  Others  say  that  Tarquinius 
Superbus  erected  it.  It  was  probably  begun  under  the  kings, 
completed  during  the  republic,  and  consecrated  by  the  first  Dictator 
of  Rome,  Titus  Lartius,  in  501  B.  C. 

Opposite  the  high  stairway,  which  led  to  the  Temple  of  Saturn, 
a  small  temple  was  built  by  Domitian,  in  honor  of  Vespasian.  As 
there  was  also  placed  in  it  an  image  of  Titus,  the  people  were 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  VESPASIAN. 


RUINS. 
Area  of  Dii  Consentes.  Temple  of  Vespasian. 


34  THE  TEMPLE  OF   VESPASIAN.      OFFICES. 

wont  to  call  it  after  the  two  Flavii  (Vespasian  and  Titus).  Of  the 
inscription  there  remain  only  the  letters  ESTITVER,  which  must 
be  read  as  a  part  of  RESTITVERVNT  ("  they  restored  ").  These 
relate  to  the  restoration  of  the  sanctuary  by  Septimius  Severus  and 
.Caracalla. 

The  front  of  the  temple,  which  once  was  adorned  by  six  col- 
umns of  Carrara  marble,  faces  the  forum.  Its  sides,  which  were 
supported  each  by  eleven  pillars,  run  parallel  with  the  Concordia 
Temple.  The  back  rests  on  the  Tabularium.  Three  columns  are 
still  standing  at  the  right  hand  front  corner.  They  support  part  of 
the  molding  adorned  with  the  heads  of  oxen  and  with  sacrificial 
implements.  When,  in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  excavate  them  to  their  full  length,  the  foundation 
proved  to  be  too  frail  for  the  pillars.  After  it  had  been  strength- 
ened, they  were  again  put  up,  and  with  great  pains  and  trouble  the 
molding  was  restored  from  the  fragments  found. 

Passing  by  this  small  temple,  several  stairs  conduct  us  down 
from  the  Clivus  to  a  row  of  chambers.  Both  these  and  those  lying 
above  served  as  offices  for  the  scribes  and  town-criers  of  the  yEdiles. 
Before  these  chambers  a  narrow  portico  extends,  surrounding  a 
small  space  at  the  southern  side,  which  was  consecrated  to  the 
twelve  chief  Olympic  gods  (Dii  Consentes).  Even  though  the 
structure,  of  which  these  ruins  remain,  is  of  the  latest  times,  it  may 
yet  be  concluded,  from  a  passage  of  the  second  Philippic,  that  al- 
ready in  the  days  of  Cicero  the  Curulian  yEdiles  had  their  rooms 
here. 

Antonius  had  charged  the  consul  with  having  the  whole  of  the 
Clivus  Capitolinus  occupied  by  armed  slaves  in  the  year  63  B.  c.,  while 
that  decisive  session  in  the  Concordia  Temple  was  going  on.  This 
charge  is  thus  refuted  by  Cicero,  in  just  indignation  :  "  O  wretched 
fellow,  whether  these  proceedings  are  unknown  to  you — you  know, 
indeed,  nothing  that  is  good — or  if  they  are  known,  since  you  speak 
so  impudently  in  the  presence  of  such  men  !  Quis  enim  eques 
Romanus,  quis  praeter  te  adulescens  nobilis,  quis  ullius  ordinis,  qui  se 


THE    COLUMN    OF   PHOCAS. 


35 


civem  esse  meminisset,  cum  senatus  in  hoc  templo  essct  in  Clivo  Capito- 
lino  non  fuit  ?  Who  in  those  days  would  have  been  loath  to  have  his 
name  enrolled  as  one  ready  to  guard  with  arms  the  fatherland's  weal  ? 
Ay,  there  were  not  scribes 
enough  ;  the  tablets  suf- 
ficed not  for  recording  the 
names  of  those  that  pre- 
sented themselves." 

Since  at  the  above- 
mentioned  area  of  the 
twelve  chief  deities  or 
advising  gods  (Dii  Consen- 
tes)  the  new  street  is  built 
over  the  old,  we  must  here 
turn  ;  on  our  way  back 
we  look  for  awhile  at  the 
workmen,  who,  just  under 
the  road  which  leads 
obliquely  across  the 
forum,  are  bringing  to 
light  remains  of  walls 
dating  from  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  then  digging 
down  to  the  forum  itself. 
In  order  to  fairly  judge 
of  the  dimensions  of  the  forum,  we  must  imagine  the  pillar 
removed,  which  in  the  seventh  century  was  erected  in  honor  of  the 
Byzantine  Emperor  Phocas,  for  with  its  extensive  foundation  it  fills 
up  a  good  part  of  the  western  end. 

The  forum,  laid  with  limestone  flags,  has  the  form  of  a  trapezium, 
the  shortest  side  of  which  forms  the  east  border.  On  the  north 
side,  the  rubbish-heap  reaches  even  yet  to  a  height  of  several 
metres.  And  it  is  only  recently  that  they  have  begun  to  lay  bare 
here  the  ancient  soil.  There  still  repose,  in  the  deep  sleep  of  the  cen- 


HARCUS    ANTON1US. 


EXCAVATIONS    IN    PROGRESS. 


COLUMN  OF  PHOCAS. 


TEMPLE  OF  SATURN. 


T.  VESPASIAN. 


turies,  the  most  important  public  buildings  of  the  Romans ;  there, 
as  has  already  been  said,  lay  the  voting-place  of  the  Roman  people, 
the  Comitium,  together  with  the  City  Hall ;  there  stood  the 
speakers'  platform  of  the  republic ;  there  was  built  the  first  court 
of  justice,  which  was  shortly  followed  by  a  second  and  grander  one. 
Perhaps  it  will  be  possible,  at  no  distant  day,  to  follow  out  more 
distinctly  the  remains  of  these  foundations.  The  houses  which  are 
still  standing  over  them  have  been  purchased  by  the  Italian  Gov- 
ernment, and  look  as  sombre  and  neglected  as  if  they  had  a  pre- 
monition of  their  speedy  destruction 

From  the  forum  the  square  blocks  of  stone,  which  project  from 
the  embankment  of  the  modern  street,  can  be  examined  to  better 
advantage.  They  served  as  foundations  to  th£  speakers'  platform 
of  the  imperial  period.  This  must  have  been  very  spacious.  The 


THE    IMPERIAL    ROSTRA. 


37 


Rostra  consisted  of  a  nearly  rectangular  platform,  75  feet  by 
44,  built  of  tufa.  The  surface  was  divided  by  pillars  into  squares, 
and  bore  the  speakers'  platform.  The  front  of  the  speakers'  plat- 
form was  faced 
with  green  mar- 
ble, and  here  the 
ship-beaks  (ros- 
tra], were  fas- 
tened in  two  rows, 
nineteen  in  one, 
twenty  in  the 
other.  The  Rostra 
was  adorned  with 
statues  of  the  am- 
bassadors who 
had  died  when 
away  from  Rome, 
and  in  front  were 
the  tables  of  the 
laws.  Augustus 
not  only  caused 
the  insignia  of 
the  republican 
platform,  the 
ships'  beaks  of 
Antium,  to  be 
attached  to  the 
new  one,  but  he 
also  brought  here  TRAJAN. 

all  the  marble  statues  and  decorations  which  the  people  had  erected 
there  to  men  of  renown.  Many  a  piece,  weak  with  age,  had  then  to 
be  replaced,  as  also  the  inscription  on  the  column  in  honor  of  Gaius 
Duillius,  the  fragments  of  which  have  been  dug  up  here. 

Only  one  antique  art-work  is   preserved  intact  in   the  forum. 


38  THE    SO-CALLED    MARBLE    BARRIERS. 

That  is  the  so-called  Barriers  of  marble.  The  two  pieces,  each  five 
metres  long,  stand  opposite  each  other,  as  if  they  formed  the  railing 
of  a  narrow  bridge.  On  the  inside  of  each  three  stately  sacrificial 
beasts — boar,  sheep  and  bullock — are  making  their  last  journey. 
On  the  outer  sides  the  Emperor  Tra'jan  is  represented,  as  he  pro- 
claims in  the  forum  his  gift  for  the  education  of  poor  children,  and 
as  he  orders  the  lists  of  unpaid  taxes  to  be  burned. 

Whether  these  remarkable  stones  were  originally  erected  here, 
and  what  end  they  served,  are  questions   that   cannot  be  answered 


Basilica  Julia. 


TRAJAN  BURNING  THE  TAX  LISTS. 

Temple  of  Saturn.          Temple  of  Vespas. 


Rostra.    T.  Concord. 


with  certainty.  It  is  certain  that  from  the  background  of  the  scenes 
depicted  on  them  we  have  received  great  help  in  restoring  the  forum. 
We  can  apply  the  term  barriers  with  greater  certainty  to  the  eight 
bulky,  square  structures  along  the  south  side,  for  to  them  were 
fastened  the  rope  and  the  rows  of  boards  by  which  the  place  was 
enclosed  during  the  assemblies. 

In   old  times  this  city  square  had   a  very  different  appearance, 


THE    PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   THE    EARLY    PERIOD. 


39 


VIRGINIA  AT  PLAY. 


being  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  shabby  booths.  The  butchers  had 
their  shops  ("  taber'nce ")  here,  which  certainly  did  not  make  the 
ground  cleaner,  nor  the  air  purer.  Next  door  clinked  the  coins  of 
the  money-changers ;  and  in  this  noisy  neighborhood  were  also 
schoolrooms,  or,  as  the  Romans  called  them,  "  ludi  pucror //;;/." 
How  often  the  children  must  have  stopped  at  those  shops ;  and 
among  the  butchers,  certainly  they  must  have  had  their  special 
friends!  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  the  Roman  boys  then 
could  beg  so  winsomely  for  a  Roman  "  penny  "  ("  as  "),  as  now  for  an 
Italian  soldo. 

Once  the  children,  on  their  way  to  school,  were  greatly  terrified. 
A  servant  of  the  dreaded  decem'vir,  Appius  Claudius,  seized  and 
led  away  from  them  their  playmate  Virginia,  and  brought  her 


ARREST    OF    VIRGINIA. 


before    the    neighboring   tribunal    of    his    patron,    asserting    that 
Virginia,  as  the  daughter  of  one  of  his  slaves,  belonged  to  him. 

"  The  city  gates  were  opened  :  the  forum,  all  alive 
With  buyers  and  with  sellers,  was  humming  like  a  hive. 
Blithely  on  brass  and  timber  the  craftsman's  stroke  was  ringing, 
And  blithely  o'er  her  panniers  the  market-girl  was  singing, 
And  blithely  young  Virginia  came  smiling  from  her  home  : 
Ah  !  wo. for  young  Virginia,  the  sweetest  maid  in  Rome  ! 


WAX   TABLETS. 


With  her  small  tablets  in  her  hand,  and  her  satchel  on  her  arm, 

Forth  she  went  bounding  to  the  school,  nor  dreamed  of  shame  or  harm. 

She  crossed  the  forum  shining  with  stalls  in  alleys  gay, 

And  just  had  reached  this  very  spot  whereon  I  stand  this  day, 

When  up  the  varlet  Marcus  came  ;  not  such  as  when  erewhile 

He  crouched  behind  his  patron's  heels  with  the  true  client's  smile : 

He  came  with  lowering  forehead,  swollen  features,  and  clinched  fist 

And  strode  across  Virginia's  path,  and  caught  her  by  the  wrist. 

Hard  strove  the  frighted  maiden,  and  screamed  with  look  aghast ; 

And  at  her  scream  from  right  and  left  the  folk  came  running  fast ; 

The  money-changer  Crispus,  with  his  thin  silver  hairs, 

And  Hanno  from  the  stately  booth  glittering  with  Punic  wares, 


TRIAL   OF   VIRGINIA.  41 

And  the  strong  smith  Muraena,  grasping  a  half-forged  brand, 

And  Volero  the  flesher,  his  cleaver  in  his  hand. 

All  came  in  wrath  and  wonder ;  for  all  knew  that  fair  child  ; 

And,  as  she  passed  them  twice  a  day,  all  kissed  their  hands  and  smiled. 

And  the  strong  smith  Mura^na  gave  Marcus  such  a  blow, 

The  caitiff  reeled  three  paces  back,  and  let  the  maiden  go. 

Yet  glared  he  fiercely  round  him,  and  growled  in  harsh,  fell  tone, 

'  She  's  mine,  and  I  will  have  her,  I  seek  but  for  mine  own  : 

She  is  my  slave,  born  in  my  house,  and  stolen  away  and  sold 

The  year  of  the  sore  sickness,  ere  she  was  twelve  hours  old. 

'T  was  in  the  sad  September,  the  month  of  wail  and  fright, 

Two  augurs  were  borne  forth  that  morn-;  the  consul  died  ere  night. 

I  wait  on  Appius  Claudius  ;  I  waited  on  his  sire ; 

Let  him  who  works  the  client  wrong,  beware  the  patron's  ire.' 

So  spake  the  varlet  Marcus ;  and  dread  and  silence  came 

On  all  the  people  at  the  sound  of  the  great  Claudian  name." 

— Macaulay. 

But  a  still  more  fearful  experience  awaited  them  on  the  morrow. 
As  early  as  daybreak  the  whole  body  of  the  citizens  stood  in  the 
forum  in  anxious  curiosity,  for  on  that  day  the  fate  of  the  maiden 
was  to  be  decided.  Virginius,  also,  who  had  been  brought  in  hot 
haste  from  the  neighboring  camp,  came  long  before  the  beginning 
of  the  trial,  and  sought  by  his  grief  to  arouse  the  sympathy  of  the 
by-standers.  He  stepped  up  to  different  individuals,  pressed  their 
hands,  and  spoke  to  them  in  a  loud  voice,  so  that  all  might  hear, 
of  the  danger  which  threatened  them  too,  if  they  would  not  protect 
him.  Of  the  trial  itself,  not  every  word  reached  the  ears  of  the 
listening  boys,  but  they  soon  saw  that  something  altogether  out 
of  the  common  run  must  follow  the  violent  altercation  between  the 
judge  and  the  defendant. 

Suddenly  they  heard  Appius  cry  with  a  voice  of  thunder: 
"Llc'tor,  disperse  the  crowd  and  allow  the  master  to  seize  his 
slave."  ("  Lictor,  summove  turbam  et  da  viam  domino  ad  prendendum 
manicipium"}  Great  and  small  scattered  when  it  was  seen  that  the 
servants  of  the  state  were  in  earnest  to  fulfil  the  command  of 
their  master.  Virginius  alone  preserved  his  composure.  With 


42  THE   FAREWELL  OF   HER   FATHER. 

* 

seeming  calmness,  he  begged  of  the  decemvirs  permission  to  speak 
a  word  or  two  of  farewell  to  his  daughter. 

Then,  leading  Virginia  a  little  way  apart  from  the  crowd  to 
the  butchers'  shops,  which  lay  near  by  the  Comitium,  he  snatched 
up  a  knife  and  plunged  it  into  his  daughter's  heart  with  the  words  : 
''  Thus  only,  my  child,  can  I  save  thee  for  freedom."  But  turning 
to  the  tribunal,  he  cried  :  "  Thee,  Appius,  and  thy  life  by  this  blood 
I  curse  !"  ("  Te,  Appi,  tuumque  caput  sanguine  hoc  consecro  /")  Then 
he  rushed  forth,  breaking  his  way  through  the  midst  of  the  lictors, 
to  arouse  his  comrades  in  the  camp  to  take  vengeance  upon  the 
tyrants  who  had  driven  him  to  so  terrible  a  deed. 

"  Straightway  Virginias  led  the  maid  a  little  space  aside, 
To  where  the  reeking  shamble  stood,  piled  up  with  horn  and  hide. 
Close  to  yon  low  dark  archway,  where,  in  crimson  flood, 
Leaps  down  to  the  great  sewer  the  gurgling  stream  of  blood. 
Hard  by,  a  flesher  on  a  block  had  laid  his  whittle  down  ; 
Virginius  caught  the  whittle  up,  and  hid  it  in  his  gown. 
And  then  his  eyes  grew  very  dim,  and  his  throat  began  to  swell, 
And  in  a  hoarse,  changed  voice,  he  spake,  '  Farewell,  sweet  child,  farewell  I 
Oh  !  how  I  loved  my  darling !     Though  stern  I  sometimes  be, 
To  thee,  thou  knowest,  I  was  not  so.     Who  could  be  so  to  thee  ? 
And  how  my  darling  loved  me  !     How  glad  she  was  to  hear 
My  footsteps  on  the  threshold,  when  I  came  back  last  year ! 
And  how  she  danced  with  pleasure  to  see  my  civic  crown, 
And  took  my  sword,  and  hung  it  up,  and  brought  me  forth  my  gown  ! 
Now,  all  these  things  are  over — yes,  all  thy  pretty  ways, 
Thy  needle-work,  thy  prattle,  thy  snatches  of  old  lays  ; 
And  none  will  grieve  when  I  go  forth,  or  smile  when  I  return, 
Or  watch  beside  the  old  man's  bed,  or  weep  upon  his  urn. 
The  house  that  was  the  happiest  within  the  Roman  walls, 
The  house  that  envied  not  the  wealth  of  Capua's  marble  halls, 
Now,  for  the  brightness  of  thy  smile,  must  have  eternal  gloom, 
And  for  the  music  of  thy  voice,  the  silence  of  the  tomb. 

— Macaulay. 

The  place  in  which  such  exciting  scenes  could  be  enacted  was 
certainly  not  a  favorable  place  for  schools,  and  the  Romans  did  well 
to  put  them  at  a  distance.  The  stalls  of  the  fishermen  also  had  to 


THE  FORUM. 


43 


44  THE   BASILICA  JULIA.      TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR. 

disappear,  as  more  attention  was  given  to  the  beautifying  of  the 
square  ;  only  the  bankers  might  remain. 

Instead  of  the  low  shops  the  elegant  pillared  halls  of  the  Basil '- 
icas,  built  after  the  Greek  model,  now  adorned  the  forum.  Caesar 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  most  beautiful  at  the  south  side ;  Augus- 
tus built  it  up  and  called  it  after  his  uncle,  Basilica  Julia.  It  was 
separated  from  the  gathering  place  of  the  people  by  the  Via  Sacra, 
from  which  a  few  steps  led  up  to  the  portico  :  if  you  entered  at  the 
upper  end,  you  needed  to  mount  only  three  steps  ;  but  at  the  lower 
end,  seven.  This  riddle  would  be  difficult  to  solve  if  you  did  not 
know  that  the  surface  of  the  forum  sinks  somewhat  toward  the 
east,  while  the  top  of  the  foundation  of  the  Basilica  is  level.  The 
roomy  interior  was  used  for  the  transactions  of  the  courts,  was 
capable  of  accommodating  four  law  courts  consisting  of  1 80  jurymen 
(judices),  and  the  crowds  of  spectators,  and  could  be  shut  off  from 
the  surrounding  porches. 

In  these,  and  upon  the  steps,  the  children  and  wandering  mu- 
sicians moved  about,  as  in  the  Rome  of  to-day  they  lounge  upon  the 
church  steps.  That  these  not  only  chatted  and  slept  there,  but  also 
played  eagerly,  is  evident  from  the  many  gaming  boards  which  are 
scratched  on  the  marble  slabs  and  pavement. 

If  we  step  down  to  the  Via  Sacra,  at  the  east  of  the  Basilica,  we 
are  but  a  few  paces  from  the  ascent  to  the  temple  of  Castor  and 
Pollux.  The  foundation  is  well  preserved,  and  also  a  part  of  the 
mosaic  floor  of  the  cella,  but  only  three  columns  are  standing  on  the 
side,  which  are  now  bound  together  with  iron  bars.  Certainly  they 
are  old  enough  to  be  supported,  for  they  date  from  the  time  of 
Tiberius,  who  rebuilt  this  temple  after  a  fire. 

It  was  founded  by  the  young  republic  in  honor  of  the  two 
knightly  youths  who,  in  the  fight  at  Lake  Regillus,  had  helped  in  a 
wonderful  manner  to  gain  a  great  victory. 

"  So  like  they  were,  no  mortal  might  one  from  other  know : 
White  as  snow  their  armor  was :   their  steeds  were  white  as  snow. 
Never  on  earthly  anvil  did  such  rare  armor  gleam  ; 


RUINS  OF  TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR  AND  POLLUX. 


45 


Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux. 


Temple  Saturn. 


46 


BATTLE   OF    LAKE   REGILLUS. 


And  never  did  such  gallant  steeds  drink  of  an  earthly  stream. 

And  all  who  saw  them  trembled,  and  pale  grew  every  cheek ; 

And  Aulus,  the  Dictator,  scarce  gathered  voice  to  speak. 

'  Say,  by  what  name  men  call  you  ?     What  city  is  your  home  ? 

And  wherefore  ride  ye  in  such  guise  before  the  ranks  of  Rome  ? ' 

'  By  many  names  men  call  us ;  in  many  lands  we  dwell : 

Well  Samothracia  knows  us  :  Cyre'ne  knows  us  well. 

Our  house  in  gay  Tarentum  is  hung  each  morn  with  flowers : 

High  o'er  the  masts  of  Syracuse  our  marble  portal  towers  : 

But  by  the  proud  Euro'tas  is  our  dear  native  home  ; 

And  for  the  right  we  come  to  fight  before  the  ranks  of  Rome.' 

So  answered  these  strange  horsemen,  and  each  couched  low  his  spear ; 

And  forthwith  all  the  ranks  of  Rome  were  bold  and  of  good  cheer : 

And  on  the  thirty  armies  came  wonder  and  affright, 

And  Ardea  wavered  on  the  left,  and  Cora  on  the  right. 

'  Rome  to  the  charge  ! '  cried  Aulus  ;  '  The  foe  begins  to  yield. 

Charge  for  the  hearth  of  Vesta  !     Charge  for  the  golden  shield  ! 

Let  no  man  stop  to  plunder,  but  slay,  and  slay,  and  slay : 

The  gods  who  live  forever  are  on  our  side  to-day.'  " 

The  temple  was  built  on  this  spot  be- 
cause Castor  and  Pollux  had  suddenly  ap- 
peared here  after  that  battle,  had  announced 
the  victory, 
and  watered 

their  sweating  and  thirsty  horses  in 

a  little   pool  (the   Lacus  Juturnae). 

(Our   illustrations  are  from  coins,  a 

Quina'rius  and  a  Dend'rius.} 


CASTOR  AND  POLLUX. 


CASTOR  AND  POLLUX  AT  THE  SPRING. 


"  Since  the  first  gleam  of  daylight,  Sempronius  had  not  ceased 
To  listen  for  the  rushing  of  horse-hoofs  from  the  east. 
The  mist  of  eve  was  rising,  the  sun  was  hastening  down, 
When  he  was  aware  of  a  princely  pair  fast  pricking  towards  the  town. 
So  like  they  were,  man  never  saw  twins  so  like  before ; 
Red  with  gore  their  armor  was,  their  steeds  were  red  with  gore. 
'  Hail  to  the  great  asylum  !  hail  to  the  hill-tops  seven  ! 
Hail  to  the  fire  that  burns  for  aye,  and  the  shield  that  fell  from  heaven  ! 
This  day,  by  Lake  Regillus,  under  the  Porcian  height, 


THE   GODS   AS   MESSENGERS   OF   VICTORY.  47 

All  in  the  lands  of  Tusculum,  was  fought  a  glorious  fight. 
To-morrow  your  Dictator  shall  bring  in  triumph  home 
The  spoils  of  thirty  cities  to  deck  the  shrines  of  Rome ! ' 
Then  burst  from  the  great  concourse  a  shout  that  shook  the  towers, 
And  some  ran  north  and  some  ran  south,  crying  '  The  day  is  ours ! ' 
But  on  rode  those  strange  horsemen,  with  slow  and  lordly  pace ; 
And  none  who  saw  their  bearing  durst  ask  their  name  or  race. 
On  rode  they  to  the  forum,  while  laurel-boughs  and  flowers, 
From  house-tops  and  from  windows,  fell  on  their  crest  in  showers. 
When  they  drew  nigh  to  Vesta,  they  vaulted  down  amain, 
And  washed  their  horses  in  the  well  that  springs  by  Vesta's  fane. 
And  straight  again  they  mounted,  and  rode  to  Vesta's  door  ; 
Then,  like  a  blast,  away  they  passed,  and  no  man  saw  them  more." 

— Macaulay. 


Arch  of  Augustus. 


Temple  of  Vesta. 
Temple  Divus  Julius. 


SOUTH-EAST    FORUM. 


Temple  of  Castor. 


The  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  was  so  spacious  that  often  the 
sessions  of  the  Senate  were  held  there,  and  the  statesmen  liked  to 
address  the  people  from  the  steps  of  the  sanctuary.  Julius  Caesar 
especially  liked  to  talk  here,  and  in  remembrance  of  that,  Augustus 
had  a  rostrum  placed  near  the  temple,  which  he  built  directly 


48 


TEMPLUM    DIVI  JULII.       ARCH    OF   AUGUSTUS. 


opposite  it  in  honor  of  "  Divus  Julius'1  The  front  of  this  rostrum 
was  adorned  with  beaks  of  ships  captured  at  Actium.  Just  beyond 
was  the  Arch  of  Augustus. 

Face  to  face  stood  the  ancient  Republic  and  the  young  Empire, 
for  on  the  further  side  of  the  square,  below  the  Capitol,  was  the 

Rostra,  with  trophies  of 

the  victories  of  the  Re- 
public ;  on  this  side 
shone  the  evidences  of 
the  glory  of  the  Julian 
family,  who  through 
their  buildings  always 
strove  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  more 
and  more  away  from  the 
ancient  Republic. 

On  account  of  the 
erection  of  Caesar's 
Temple,  a  rearrange- 
ment of  this  portion  of 
the  forum  became  nec- 
essary, which  must  have 
affected  the  direction 
of  the  street.  At  least 
it  is  certain  that  the  Via  Sacra  went  beyond  to  the  circular  temple 
of  Vesta,  but  the  ruin  of  that  building  is  generally  pointed  out 
at  the  east  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux. 

"  Close  to  where  the  southern  angle  of  the  Temple  of  Castor 
stands  back  from  the  forum,  stood  the  altar  of  Aius  Locu'tius,  in 
the  open  at  the  edge  of  the  Nova  Via  ("  new  street "),  really  one  of 
the  oldest  streets  in  Rome,  and  reminding  us  of  the  period  when 
the  Via  Sacra,  to  which  it  found  access  behind  the  Atrium  Vestae 
("  House  of  Vesta "),  and  the  forum  itself  were  newly  in  the 
boundary  of  the  city.  On  the  line  of  this  Nova  Via  stands  the 


CAIUS  JULIUS  C^SAR. 


THE    ATRIUM    VESTAE. 


49 


lately  discovered  '  House  of  the  Vestals,'  between  which  and  the 
Grove  of  Vesta  on  the  slope  of  the  Palatine  it  runs  obliquely  toward 
the  southwest."  "  People  abroad  can  not  conceive  the  faintest 
idea  of  the  impression  which  every  one  here  felt  in  stepping  over 


TEMPLE  OF  DIVUS  JULIUS. 


TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR.         ARCH  OF  AUGUSTUS. 


the  threshold  of  the  Atrium  Vestae,  in  entering  those  cloisters, 
the  marble  population  of  which  is  increasing  in  number  and  in 
importance  every  day.  The  noble,  dignified  portrait-statues  of 
the  virgines  vestales  maximae  (chief  vestal  virgins)  are  there  stand- 
ing in  long  array,  ready  to  welcome  the  visitors,  and  glad  to  have 
recovered  possession  of  the  house  which,  for  eleven  centuries,  has 
been  the  witness  of  their  joys  and  sorrows,  the  depository  of  their 
secrets,  and  from  which  they  were  brutally  expelled  in  A.  D.  394." 

Now  Horace  meets  us,  as  in  his  customary  walk  he  comes  down 
the  Via  Sacra.  But  to-day  the  poet,  usually  so  cheerful,  is  in  bad 
humor;  for  a  disagreeable,  persistent  man,  entirely  unknown  to 
him,  has  intruded  himself  upon  him,  wishes  to  become  his  friend, 
and  asks  in  a  very  inquisitive  way  after  Maece'nas.  Horace  has,  in- 
deed, already  told  him  that  he  should  not  need  his  company,  as  he 
wishes  to  visit  one  of  his  acquaintances  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
Tiber.  But  the  fib  was  of  no  avail,  for  the  new  friend  will  go  so  far 
as  to  let  a  summons  to  court  be  disregarded,  if  he  may  only  accom- 


HORACE'S  ADVENTURE. 


QUINTUS  HORATIUS   FLACCUS. 


pany  the  poet.     Horace  is  in  the  greatest  perplexity,  and  is  besides 
very  angry  because  the  roguish  Fuscus,  whom  he  had  secretly  greeted 
as  his  deliverer,  makes  merry  over  him,  and  will  not  understand 
grimaces  and  winks,  but  hastens  away  with  a  very  poor  excuse. 
The  new  friends  have  just  reached  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  and 


HORACE'S  NINTH  SATIRE.  51 

Horace  knows  that  he  must  endure  the  persistent  man  an  hour 
longer,  in  case  that  bore  succeeds  in  getting  by  the  court-house 
(Basilica)  unnoticed  into  the  Tuscan  quarter  ( Vicus  Tuscus).  For- 
tunately, just  there  the  enemy  of  this  deserter  meets  them,  and 
drags  him  before  the  nearest  tribunal.  But  Horace  continues  his 
walk,  and  laughs  now  himself  over  his  misfortune.  His  gay  spirits 
have  returned,  and  let  him  find  amends  for  the  lost  time  by  work- 
ing out  some  charming  verses,  with  which  he  will,  at  the  earliest 
opportunity,  relate  his  experience  to  a  gay  circle  of  friends. 

Walking  by  chance  in  the  Sacred  Street,  I,  true  to  my  habit, 
Turned  in  my  mind  some  trifles  or  other— absorbed  in  them  wholly. 
Hurrying  toward  me  there  came  a  man  whom  I  knew  by  name  only. 
Seizing  my  hand,  he  exclaimed  :  "  How  are  you,  my  dearest  of  fellows  ?" 
"  Well,  sir,  at  present,"  I  answered,  "  and  all  that  you  wish  I  crave  also." 
Now  as  he  joins  me  I  try  to  forestall  him.     "  What  did  you  wish,  then  ?" 
"  Wish  ?     That  you  knew  me  indeed,"  replied  he,  "  for  I  am  accomplished." 
"  So  much  the  greater  your  value,"  said  I,  and,  longing  to  leave  him, 
Quickened  my  steps ;  made  pause  now  and  then  to  whisper  some  trifle 
Into  the  ear  of  my  boy,  while  I  felt  a  cold  perspiration 
E'en  on  my  feet.     "  O  happy  Bola'nus  in  being  quick-tempered  !" 
Envying,  thought  I,  the  while  the  tiresome  creature  kept  prattling, 
Praising  the  streets  and  the  city  and  saying  whatever  he  thought  of. 
Seeing  I  gave  him  no  answer,  he  said  :  "  You  are  wretchedly  pining, 
I  know,  to  desert  me,  but  I  shall  hold  on  to  the  last.     You  can  't  do  it. 
I  will  accompany  you  as  far  as  your  errand  may  lead  you." 
— "  Do  not  go  out  of  your  way.     I  call  on  a  friend  whom  you  know  not, 
111  far  over  the  Tiber,  near  the  gardens  of  Caesar." 
— "  I  have  nothing  to  do  and  not  being  lazy  I  '11  follow." 
Droop,  then,  my  suffering  ears,  like  those  of  an  obstinate  donkey — 
Burden  too  great  for  his  back  being  finally  fastened  upon  it. 
Then  says  the  fellow :  "If  really  you  knew  me,  you  would  not  like  Viscus 
Or  Varius  better  than  me ;  for  who  can  write  verses  more  swiftly  ? 
Who  can  more  gracefully  dance  ?  and  my  voice  let  Hermogenes  envy. 
Here  was  a  chance  of  inquiring :  "  Have  you  a  mother, — relations 
Cherishing  fondly  your  welfare  ?" — "  No,  not  a  relative  have  I  • 
All  have  been  laid  away."     "  Happy  ones  !"  thought  I,  "  but  /  am  remaining. 
Finish  me  !     Now  comes  the  fate  foretold  by  the  old  Sabine  woman. 
I  was  a  boy  when,  the  sacred  urn  being  shaken,  she  chanted  : 


52  HORACE'S  NARROW  ESCAPE. 

'  Neither  shall  poison  carry  him  off,  nor  enemy's  weapon, 

Nor  pleurisy,  no,  nor  a  cough,  nor  gout,  howe'er  it  may  cripple. 

Some  time  or  other  a  bore  will  consume  him.     So  let  him  shun  talkers 

If  he  be  prudent,  when  once  he  attains  the  stature  of  manhood.' " 

Now  we  had  reached  the  Temple  of  Vesta  at  nine  in  the  morning. 

He,  as  it  chanced,  was  then  due  to  appear  in  court  as  defendant. 

Failing  in  this,  he  would  thereby  forfeit  his  bail  or  his  lawsuit. 

—"Were you  my  friend,"  he  said,  "you  here  would  aid  me  a  little." 

— "  O  !  may  I  die  if  I  can,  or  know  aught  of  this  jurisprudence  ! 

Then  I  am  hastening  whither  I  told  you." — "  I  hesitate,"  said  he, 

"Whether  to  give  M^  you  or  my  lawsuit."     "  Me,  sir,  by  all  means  !  " 

"  I  will  not,"  he  said,  beginning  to  walk  on.     And  I  meekly  follow. 

Hard  it  is,  truly,  for  any  to  struggle  on  with  a  victor. 

"How  do  you  stand,"  he  resumed,  "with  Maecenas,  that  man  of  sound  judgment, 

Highly  select  in  his  friendships  ? — none  has  used  riches  more  wisely. 

Helper  indeed  you  might  have,  who  would  be  an  obedient  second, 

Would  you  now  only  employ  my  services.     Why  ;  may  I  die,  if, 

Then  you  could  not  remove  all  rivals  far  from  your  pathway ! " 

— "  Modes  there  of  living  are  not  what  you  think  them.     No  house  is  purer, 

Freer  from  all  such  abuses.     To  me  it  is  no  inconvenience 

That  others  are  richer  or  wiser  than  I.     To  each  his  allotment." 

— "  Wonders  scarce  credible  these  are." — "  So  it  is  notwithstanding." 

— "  Greater  than  ever  my  wish  is  that  I,  too,  may  share  his  acquaintance." 

— "  Wishing  in  your  case  is  all.     With  merit  like  yours  you  may  gain  it. 

He  is  a  man  to  be  wheedled  ;  therefore  he  guards  his  approaches." 

— "  Not  an  occasion  shall  pass  me.     I  '11  gain  the  servants  by  presents. 

Were  I  to-day  shut  out,  I  should  not  give  up,  but  would  watch  and 

Meet  him  at  last  in  the  streets.     Be  sure  I  shall  finally  have  him, 

Nothing  is  gained  in  life  without  mighty  effort  by  mortals."- 

While  he  is  talking  in  this  way,  Fuscus  Aristius  meets  me, 

Friend  well  beloved  of  mine,  who  knows  perfectly  this  fellow's  habits. 

Stopping  we  ask  and  we  answer:  "  Whence  do  you  come  ?  " — "  Whither  go  you  ?' 

Clutching,  I  pinch  his  insensible  arms,  while  nodding  and  winking 

That  he  may  release  me  from  torture.     He,  laughing  with  mischievous  humor 

Seems  not  to  notice  my  hints.     My  wrath,  in  the  meantime,  is  boiling. 

— "  Surely  you  said  that  you  wished  to  tell  me  something  in  private." 

— "  Yes,  I  distinctly  remember.     I  '11  say  it  on  better  occasion. 

This  is  the  thirtieth  Sabbath.     You  wish  to  scoff  at  the  Jews,  then  ?  " 

— "  No  superstitions  have  I." — "  But  I  have.     I  'm  somewhat  weaker, 

One  of  the  common-place  crowd.     Excuse  me  ;   I  '11  talk  with  you  later." 


NEXT   POINT  OF   INTEREST,  THE  PALATINE. 


MAECENAS  AND  RUINS  OF  HIS  VILLA. 


— Ah  !  that  this  day  of  darkness  e'er  should  have  risen  upon  me  ! 

Here  the  rogue  vanishing,  leaves  me  powerless  under  the  plowshare. 

Now  the  other's  opponent  meets  him  with  loud  exclamation  : 

"  Where  are  you  going,  you  scoundrel  ? — Will  you,  sir,  witness  the  summons  ?  " 

Gladly  I  give  him  my  ear.     He  drags  my  foe  to  the  court-house, 

Noise  and  confusion  abounding. — And  so  Apollo  preserved  me. 

— Katharine  H.  Austin. 

We  were  so  curious  as  to  follow  the  poet,  and  have,  in  conse- 
quence, come  back  to  the  Temple  of  Castor.  But  now  he  has  sud- 
denly vanished  from  sight  into  the  crowded  Tuscan  Street  (Vicus 
Tuscus}.  We  will  not  seek  him,  for  we  know  that  he  likes  to  be  alone. 

But  I  will  lead  you  from  the  forum  to  the   Palatine   Hill  (Mons 


54  AFTER  NOTING  THE  ARCH   OF  TITUS.    ' 

Palatinus)  near  by,  to  the  hill  upon  which  the  poor  hut  of  Faus'tulus 
must  have  stood,  which  later  bore  the  stately  palace  of  the  Caesars. 

"  The  Palatine,  proud  Rome's  imperial  seat, 
(An  awful  pile)  stands  venerably  great : 
Thither  the  kingdoms  and  the  nations  come 
In  supplicating  crowds  to  learn  their  doom  ; 
To  Delphi  less  th'  inquiring  worlds  repair, 
Nor  does  a  greater  God  inhabit  there  : 
This  sure  the  pompous  mansion  was  design'd 
To  please  the  mighty  rulers  of  mankind  ; 
Inferior  temples  rise  on  either  hand, 
And  on  the  borders  of  the  palace  stand, 
While  o'er  the  rest  her  head  she  proudly  rears, 
And  lodged  amidst  her  guardian  gods  appears." 

— Claudian  (Addzson's  Translation). 

So  we  go  up  by  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  to  the  modern 
highroad  and  to  the  present  entrance-gate  of  the  hill.  That  arch  at 
the  summit  of  the  Sacred  Street,  which  your  eyes  have  frequently 
sought,  is  the  Arch  of  Titus,  "which,  even  in  its  restored  condition,  is 
the  most  beautiful  monument  of  the  kind  remaining  in  Rome.  Its 
Christian  interest  is  unrivalled,  from  its  having  been  erected  by  the 
Senate  to  commemorate  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  and  from  its 
bas-reliefs  of  the  seven-branched  candlestick  and  other  treasures 
of  the  Jewish  temple.  Hawthorne  says:  "Standing  beneath  the 
Arch  of  Titus,  and  amid  so  much  ancient  dust,  it  is  difficult 
to  forbear  the  commonplaces  of  enthusiasm,  on  which  hundreds 
of  tourists  have  already  insisted.  Over  the  half-worn  pavement,  and 
beneath  this  arch,  the  Roman  armies  had  trodden  in  their  outward 
march,  to  fight  battles,  a  world's  width  away.  Returning  victorious, 
with  royal  captives  and  inestimable  spoil,  a  Roman  triumph,  that 
most  gorgeous  pageant  of  earthly  pride,  has  streamed  and  flaunted 
in  hundred-fold  succession  over  these  same  flagstones,  and  through 
this  yet  stalwart  archway.  It  is  politic,  however,  to  make  few  allu- 
sions to  such  a  past ;  nor  is  it  wise  to  suggest  how  Cicero's  feet  may 
have  stepped  on  yonder  stone,  or  how  Horace  was  wont  to  stroll 


ARCH   OF  TITUS,   COLISEUM. 


55 


CALIGULA. 


near  by,  making  his  footsteps  chime  with  the  measure  of  the  ode 
that  was  ringing  in  his  mind.  The  very  ghosts  of  that  massive  and 
stately  epoch  have  so  much  density  that  the  people  of  to-day  seem 

the  thinner  of  the  two,  and 
stand  more  ghost-like  by  the 
arches  and  columns,  letting 
the  rich  sculpture  be  dis- 
cerned through  their  ill-com- 
pacted substance."  But, 
pursuing  our  way  up  the 
Palatine,  at  the  right  of  our 
path  now  rise  up,  in  three 
stories,  high  arches,  and  daily 
new  walls  come  to  light  here. 
These  ruins  belong  to  the 
immense  palace  which  Cal- 
Ig'ula  built  at  the  northwest 
side  of  the  Palatine.  The 
front  of  this  palace  faced  the 
forum.  For  Sueto'nius  says, 
in  the  biography  of  this 
emperor,  that  he  had  ex- 
tended this  side  of  the  Pala- 
tine, by  the  help  of  mighty 
buttresses,  to  the  forum,  and 
had  made  the  Temple  of  Cas- 
tor and  Pollux  a  vestibule 
of  the  royal  palace.  Often 
the  emperor  placed  himself 
between  the  celestial  brothers,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  worshipped 
by  the  passers-by.  We  go  through  the  principal  modern  entrance, 
which  formerly  led  to  the  gardens  of  the  Farnese  family,  and  soon 
come,  after  turning  to  the  right  at  the  end  of  the  high  staircase,  to 
the  Hill  of  Victory. 


CALIGULA. 


PORTION   OF    PALATINE. 


57 


PLAN  OF  A  PART  OF  THE    PALATINE  HILL 


58  CALIGULA   AND    HIS   BRIDGE. 

The  top  of  the  Palatine  was  united  with  the  lowest  part  of  the 
forum  and  the  surrounding  valley,  the  so-called  Vela'brum,  by  this 
passage.  This  Caligula  overarched  with  his  extended  buildings; 
and  so  it  happens  that  we  now,  at  the  right  and  left,  look  into 
rooms  large  and  small  which  have  served  for  the  apartments  of  the 
royal  servants  and  guards.  In  some  the  stone  beds  are  still  pre- 
served which  are  found  elsewhere  in  the  Roman  guard  houses.  In 
others  all  the  furniture  is  wanting;  in  only  a  few  have  the  decora- 
tions of  ceiling  and  walls  been  partially  preserved. 

If  we  venture  as  near  the  side  of  the  hill  as  possible,  we  have 
just  below  us  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  and  over  to  the 
west  the  hill  on  which  stands  the  Capitoline  Temple  of  Jupiter. 
From  this  northwestern  point  of  the  Palatine,  Caligula  bridged 
over  the  valley  which  separated  him  from  his  brother  (!)  Jupiter. 
Very  often  he  had  held  conversation  with  the  divinity  of  the 
capitol,  mysteriously  whispering  in  his  ear,  and  receiving  answers  in 
the  same  way.  They  did  not  end  without  some  altercations,  for 
the  insane  king  at  last  cried  out :'  "  Either  lift  thou  me  or  I  will 
thee,"  ("  "H  {JL  d.vds.cp  y  if  a)  <rl."  II.,  xxiii.,  724.)  Yet  he  suffered 
himself  to  be  quieted  again  through  the  invitation  of  the  god  to 
live  with  him.  In  order  to  carry  out  this  command  as  soon  as 
possible,  he  united  the  two  hills  by  means  of  the  famous  bridge ; 
(later  he  laid  the  foundation  for  a  palace  on  the  Capitoline  hill 
itself.)  Three  high  brick  walls  still  stand  at  the  foot  of  the  Palatine, 
which  apparently  belonged  to  the  foundations  of  that  wonderful 
passage. 

Naturally,  the  bridge  must  have  gone  close  over  the  roof  of  the 
Basilica  Julia,  and  so  it  might  have  happened  that  the  capricious 
ruler,  when  he  visited  the  capitol,  threw  gold  from  the  roof  of  the 
judgment  hall  to  the  people  below.  On  this  account,  when  he  had 
exhausted  the  public  treasury,  through  his  thoughtless  extrava- 
gance, he  condescended  on  New  Year's  Day  to  accept  gifts  from 
his  subjects,  and  most  graciously  received  the  richest  gifts  at  the 
entrance  of  his  palace.  It  is  a  hard  but  deserved  judgment  that  all 


HOUSE  OF   CICERO. 


59 


the  colossal  undertakings  of  this  prince,  who  seemed  always  to  plan 
what  was  foolish,  have  either  entirely  vanished  or  are  destroyed 
past  recognition. 

A  level  path  went  along  the  northwest  side  of  the  hill.  Before 
this  side  was  occupied  by  royal  residences  many  illustrious  Romans 
had  already  built  their 
houses  there ;  for  the 
Palatine,  with  its  re- 
minders of  the  origin 
of  the  city,  was  always 
a  favorite  quarter. 
Three  famous  orators 
lived  upon  the  hill — 
Crassus,  Hortensius,and 
Cicero;  also  the  latter' s 
client,  Milo,  and  his 
opponent,  Clodius. 

Cicero  had  bought  a 
place  here  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  million ; 
but  his  good  neighbor 
Clodius  surpassed  him, 
and  paid  $600,000  for 
his.  Where  each  of 
these  possessions  lay 
can  no  longer  be  estab 
lished  with  certainty ; 
from  Cicero's  own  evi- 
dence only  this  can  be 
learned  :  that  his  house  could  be  seen  from  the  open  place  here, 
and  that  it  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  official  residence  of  the 
chief  priest  (Pontifex  Maximus),  which  was  situated  at  the  forum, 
between  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  the  Palatine. 

Along  the  whole  region  which  runs  parallel  with  the  Velabrum, 


MORTENS  IUS. 


60  THE    GERMALUS. 

ancient  and  modern  walls  meet  our  way,  which,  however,  awaken  no 
great  interest.  It  is  only  at  the  southwestern  angle  of  the  hill  that 
we  encounter  a  remarkable  ruin — the  remains  of  the  oldest  wall  of 
Rome.  The  material  for  the  well-hewn  blocks  of  stone  was  ob- 
tained from  the  Palatine  Hill  itself.  A  portion  of  the  wall,  some 
five  layers,  is  still  standing  upright,  in  which  the  stones  are  placed 
alternately  length  and  breadth-wise,  without  mortar.  The  greatest 
thickness  of  the  wall  is  fourteen  feet,  a  thickness  which  was  very 
effective  where  the  wall  made  a  right  angle.  In  the  construction  of 
the  first  fortification,  such  a  wall  was  built  around  the  whole  hill, 
inclosing  an  irregular  quadrangle,  the  so-called  Roma  Quadrd'ta. 
From  this  point  remains  of  the  ancient  wall  are  seen  at  other  places 
along  the  edge  of  the  hill,  but  at  this  particular  point  it  is  best  pre- 
served ;  while,  for  example,  beside  the  main  gate,  in  front  of  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator,  it  is  fast  crumbling  to  pieces. 

This  part  of  the  Palatine  along  which  we  have  just  passed  the 
Romans  called  Ger 'mains  (which  is  said  by  Varro  to  be  derived  from 
germarii,  twins),  in  remembrance  of  the  wonderful  rescue  of  the 
twins,  Romulus  and  Remus.  The  Tiber  near  by,  into  whose  raging 
flood  they  were  to  have  been  thrown,  had  just  at  that  time  over- 
flowed its  banks,  and  filled  the  hollows  between  the  Capitoline, 
Palatine,  and  Av'entine  Hills.  So  the  royal  servants  put  the  basket 
with  the  two  brothers  into  the  shallow  water  at  the  first  convenient 
slope  of  the  hill,  where  a  fig-tree  projected  from  the  water,  suppos- 
ing that  the  little  ones  would  meet  their  death  here  as  well  as  in 
the  main  current.  At  that  time  this  region  was  still  very  wild,  with 
wolves  roaming  in  the  forest.  Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  if  one  of 
these  hungry  animals,  hearing  the  children  cry,  trotted  thither  to 
spy  out  the  unexpected  booty  ?  But  at  sight  of  the  weeping 
brothers  the  she-wolf  forgot  her  fierceness,  herself,  and  her  young 
ones,  and  nourished  the  two  hungry  creatures  with  her  milk.  Faus- 
tulus,  who  had  just  then  stepped  out  of  the  thicket,  observed  this 
singularly  affecting  group  with  astonishment,  carried  the  children 
home  to  his  Laurentia,  and  reared  them  strong,  brave  lads. 


THE    TENDER-HEARTED   WOLF.  6l 

1  They  were  doomed  by  a  bloody  king  :  they  were  doomed  by  a  lying  priest : 
They  were  cast  on  the  raging  flood  :  they  were  tracked  by  the  raging  beast. 
Raging  beast  and  raging  flood  alike  have  spared  the  prey ; 
And  to-day  the  dead  are  living,  the  lost  are  found  to-day. 

********* 

The  troubled  river  knew  them,  and  smoothed  his  yellow  foam. 
And  gently  rocked  the  cradle  that  bore  the  fate  of  Rome. 
The  ravening  she-wolf  knew  them,  and  licked  them  o'er  and  o'er, 
And  gave  them  of  her  own  fierce  milk,  rich  with  raw  flesh  and  gore." 

— Macaulay. 


THE  BRONZE  WOLF  (Cic.,  in  Cat.  III.,  19). 


Below  our  feet  lies  the  valley  between  the  Palatine  and  Aventine 
Hills,  in  which,  during  the  celebration  of  games,  the  young  Romans 
seized  and  carried  off  the  daughters  of  the  Sa'bines.  From  the  top 
of  the  Palatine  down  to  the  circus  there  was  a  stairway,  called  Cacus, 
probably  in  honor  of  that  Cacus  who  is  said  to  have  stolen  Her'cu- 
les's  cattle  and  driven  them  to  his  cave  in  the  Aventine.  We  can  no 
longer  ascend  the  steps,  as  most  of  them  have  been  destroyed,  and 
besides,  we  must  not  yet  leave  the  southern  slope  ;  there  are  still 
many  things  here  to  be  seen. 


62  THE  DOMUS   GELOTIANA. 

On  the  left  appear  many  traces  of  private  houses,  which  show 
that  the  Romans  were  fond  of  living  in  this  neighborhood.  For  it 
was  no  small  gratification  to  a  Roman  to  be  able  to  view  the  sports 
in  the  circus  from  the  roof  of  his  house.  The  imperial  palaces, 
which  completely  occupied  the  rest  of  the  hill,  never  extended  to 
this  region.  It  seems  to  me  quite  natural  that  imperial  freedmen, 
especially,  should  themselves  have  purchased  property  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Palatine,  and  this  also  explains  how  Augustus  could  look  at 
the  races  in  the  circus  from  the  residences  of  his  friends  and  freed- 
men. Caligula  regaled  himself  with  the  lively  scenes  in  the  valley 
from  the  Gelo'tian  house,  (Dd'mus  Gelotia'nd].  The  adjective  gelo- 
tianciy  derived  from  the  name  of  a  former  inhabitant,  was  retained 
even  after  the  rebuilding  of  the  house,  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
other  parts  of  the  palace.) 

The  arrangements  of  the  house,  of  which  there  are  still  remains, 
indicate  that  it  dates  from  the  time  of  Hadrian,  and  it  is  quite  in 
accordance  with  the  character  of  this  emperor  that  he  should  have 
founded  a  school  (paed' ago  giuin)  here.  In  an  establishment  of  this 
kind,  however,  you  must  not  imagine  a  Latin  school,  nor  even  a 
gymnasium,  but  rather  a  training  school,  where  youths  were 
instructed  in  polite  manners  and  in  the  arts  of  the  courtier.  These 
institutions  often  turn  out  the  most  influential  courtiers.  For  this 
reason  aspiring  young  men  were  eager  to  enter,  as  we  learn  from 
the  epitaph  of  a  boy  of  seventeen,  a  student  in  one  of  these 
schools.  He  complains  of  being  torn  away  from  his  studies  too 
soon  :  "Disccssi  ab  urbe  in  Praetorio  Caesaris,  ubi  dum  sttiderem,  fata 
mi  hi  inviderunt  raptumque  ab  arte  tradiderunt  hoc  loco."  The 
youths  whose  education  was  being  provided  for  by  the  emperor 
(pueri  Cae'saruiri)  are  repeatedly  mentioned  in  inscriptions,  as  are  also 
their  teachers  (the  praeceptores  Caesarum  or  paedagogi puerorum). 

In  this  pacdagogium  we  still  recognize  the  pillared  court,  flanked 
on  opposite  sides  by  small  rooms.  Only  those  on  the  left,  grouped 
around  an  ancient  salon  (exc'drd),  are  preserved.  They  excite  a 
peculiar  interest  on  account  of  the  inscriptions  found  on  the  walls. 


HADRIAN'S  PAEDAGOGIUM. 


The  words  scratched  on  the  wall  are  for  the  most  part  the  work  of 
young  men  leaving  \hz  paedagogium,  as,  for  example,  the  following: 
CORIN 

THVS 

EXIT 

DE   PEDAGO 

GIO. 

(Corinthus  is  leaving  school.) 

The  method  of  instruction  in  this  paedagogium  does  not  seem  to 
have   suited    Corinthus,  whose   departure    is   recorded   at  another 


64  ROMAN    LADS  AT    SCHOOL. 

place.  His  twice-occurring  "exit"  sounds  very  much  like  a 
triumph  at  having  at  last  outgrown  the  power  of  the  pedagogues. 

Many  names  have  appended  to  them  the  letters  VDN,  and 
several  times  the  word  beginning  with  V  is  written  out  in  full, 
verna  (a  slave  born  in  his  master's  house),  so  that  the  abbreviations 
must  be  read  verna  domini  nostri  ("a  verna  of  our  master").  In  this 
imperial  institute  the  children  of  the  court-servants  chiefly  were 
trained,  but  they  did  not  constitute  the  only  inhabitants  of  the 
house  ;  there  was  in  it  also  a  guard  of  soldiers,  rendered  necessary 
on  account  of  the  isolated  position  of  the  hill.  Some  of  these  also 
have  immortalized  (!)  their  names,  at  the  same  time  disclosing  by 
the  addition  of  « peregrl' nu,s"  ("foreigner"),  that  they  belonged  to 
that  part  of  the  army  which  consisted  of  foreigners.  Since  these 
had  their  rendezvous  on  the  neighboring  Cse'lian  hill,  it  is  probable 
that  the  post  in  the  fiomus  Gelotiana  consisted  of  soldiers  from  that 
place.  There  must  have  been  in  the  paedagogium,  also,  servants  for 
the  heavy  work,  and  slaves  intrusted  with  the  management  of  the 
whole  establishment. 

It  is  quite  a  lively  scene  that  is  unfolded  before  our  eyes  in 
these  deserted  chambers.  In  the  small,  cool  rooms  the  boys  are 
learning  their  lesson  {pensum) ;  yonder,  at  the  entrance,  soldiers 
are  loitering  about,  while  others  are  sitting  in  airy  exedra,  relat- 
ing to  each  other  loquaciously  (multis  cum  verbis)  their  various 
adventures.  During  the  narration  of  these  tales,  probably  not 
quite  new,  the  listeners  had  time  to  think  of  other  things  and 
scratch  their  "  happy  thoughts "  *on  the  walls.  Sometimes  they 
drew  pictures  of  circus-horses,  fighters  in  nets,  or  other  reminis- 
cences from  the  arena. 

The  pupils  appear  to  have  been  as  fond  at  that  time  of  teasing 
each  other  as  they  are  to-day.  At  any  rate,  in  a  small  room  is  the 
name  LIBA'NVS,  and  under  it,  in  a  different  hand,  is  written 
EPISCOPVS.  In  still  another  place  is  repeated :  LIBANVS  EPI. 
Libanus,  without  doubt,  had  the  bad  habit  of  "telling  on  "  his  fellow 
pupils,  and  so  they  nicknamed  him  (episcopus}\hQ  "overseer."  I  do 


CARICATl  ki  s  ON    I  ill.   WALLS.  65 

not  think  it  can  be  inferred  from  this  nickname  that  he  was  a 
Christian.  Perhaps  the  one  who  wrote  the  Greek  word  underneath 
had  just  learned  it,  and  felt  glad  that  it  suited  the  unpopular 
Libanus  so  well. 

More  uncouth,  but  more  good  natured,  is  the  joke  on  the  wall 
in  the  last  room,  where,  with  a  few  bold  strokes,  the  picture  of  an 
ass  turning  a  mill-stone  is  scratched  into  the  plaster,  and  below  it 
are  these  words  :  (Labora,  aselle,  quomodo  ego  laboravi,  et  prodcrit  tibi] 
"  work,  little  donkey,  as  I  have,  and  it  will  do  you  good."  This 
witticism  may  have  been  perpetrated  by  a  slave  who  formerly  had 
to  turn  the  mill  himself,  and  is  now  leisurely  looking  at  the  donkey 
doing  it.  But  I  would  rather  ascribe  the  jest  to  one  of  the  depart- 
ing pupils.  He  has  become  "  soured,"  and  is  now  laughing  at  the 
complaints  of  one  of  those  who  must  remain,  and  so  draws  this 
neat  little  picture  behind  his  back. 

Of  all  these  scrolls  the  well-known  caricature  of  the  crucifixion 
has  become  the  most  noted.  To  a  cross  drawn  by  a  few  lines  is 
affixed  a  man  with  a  head  of  an  ass,  and,  by  his  side,  as  if  engaged 
in  prayer,  is  a  horribly  deformed  man,  with  these  words : 
(M/cca/^cVGic  asfc't  [aifiz-cai]  $sov)  "  Alexam'enos  worships  God."  As 
Alexamenos  in  another  inscription  is  called  a  " fide 'Us  "  ("faithful 
one"),  it  is  established,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  here  a  Christian  was 
mocked  by  his  rude  companions  because  he  was  not  afraid  to  pray 
in  their  presence.  It  was  cast  in  the  face  of  the  Jews  originally 
that  they  worshipped  an  ass's  head.  In  the  wilderness  they  were 
said  to  have  followed  the  wild  asses  to  see  where  they  went  to 
drink,  and  to  have  worshipped  the  ass  afterward  in  the  temple  in 
thankfulness  for  this  guidance.  And  since  the  Christians  were 
regarded  at  first  as  a  sect  of  the  Jews,  they  had  to  endure  this 
senseless  reproach.  Tertul'lian,  in  his  defence  of  Christianity, 
repels  this  imputation  with  much  force.  The  "  mock  crucifix  " 
belongs  to  the  time  of  this  church  father,  at  the  end  of  the  second 
or  beginning  of  the  third  century,  and  shows  that  the  habit, 
wide-spread  at  that  time,  of  deriding  the  Christians,  had  penetrated 


66  PAUL'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ARMOR. 

even  into  the  youthful  circle  of  the  paedagogium.  These  rooms  also 
have  for  us  great  interest  from  the  belief  which  many  have  that 
they  are  those  once  occupied  by  the  Praetorian  guard  which  had  St. 
Paul  in  custody.  "The  close  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
contains  a  remarkable  example  of  the  forcible  imagery  of  St.  Paul. 
Considered  simply  in  itself,  the  description  of  the  Christian's  armor 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  passages  in  the  sacred  volume.  But  if 
we  view  it  in  connection  with  the  circumstances  with  which  the 
Apostle  was  surrounded,  we  find  a  new  and  living  emphasis  in  his 
enumeration  of  all  the  parts  of  the  heavenly  panoply, — the  belt  of 
sincerity  and  truth,  with  which  the  loins  are  girded  for  the 
spiritual  war, — the  breastplate  of  that  righteousness,  the  insepa- 
rable links  of  which  are  faith  and  love, — the  strong  sandals,  with 
which  the  feet  of  Christ's  soldiers  are  made  ready,  not  for  such 
errands  of  death  and  despair  as  those  on  which  the  Praetorian 
soldiers  were  daily  sent,  but  for  the  universal  message  of  the 
Gospel  of  Peace, — the  large  shield  of  confident  trust,  wherewith  the 
whole  man  is  protected,  and  whereon  the  fiery  arrows  of  the  wicked 
one  fall  harmless  and  dead, — the  close-fitting  helmet,  with  which 
the  hope  of  salvation  invests  the  head  of  the  believer, — and  finally 
the  sword  of  the  spirit,  the  Word  of  God,  which,  when  wielded  by 
the  great  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  turned  the  tempter  in  the 
wilderness  to  flight,  while  in  the  hands  of  His  chosen  Apostle,  with 
whose  memory  the  sword  seems  inseparably  associated,  it  became 
the  means  of  establishing  Christianity  on  the  earth.  All  this 
imagery  becomes  doubly  forcible  if  we  remember  that  when  St. 
Paul  wrote  the  words  he  was  chained  to  a  soldier,  and  in  the  close 
neighborhood  of  military  sights  and  sounds.  The  appearance  of 
the  Praetorian  guards  was  familiar  to  him  ;  as  his  '  chains/  on  the 
other  hand,  so  he  tells  us  in  the  succeeding  epistle,  became  well 
known  throughout  the  whole  Praetorium." — Conybeare  and  Hoivson. 
The  Domus  Gelotiana  stands  at  the  end  of  a  hollow  which  for- 
merly separated  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Palatine  from  the 
southeastern.  Up  to  this  we  have  passed  along  the  northwestern 


VIEW    FROM   THE   PALATINE.  67 

edge  of  the  hill,  and  are  now  entering  on  that  part  which  extends 
toward  the  southeast,  which  was  not  occupied  till  later  times  by  im- 
perial buildings.  Septimius  Severus  built  himself  a  palace  here 
similar  to  the  one  of  Caligula  at  the  north  side.  Endless  rows  of 
lofty  arches  and  innumerable  chambers  engage  our  attention  here, 
but  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  tell  the  original  use  of  each  room. 
Lofty  corridors,  small,  damp  rooms,  baths,  splendid  halls,  succeed 
one  another,  and  we  are  glad  to  reach  the  summit  of  the  ruins  with- 
out losing  our  way.  Here  we  stand  on  the  floor  of  the  main  hall, 
and  the  gloomier  our  way  was  through  the  lower  story,  the  more 
charming  is  the  view  from  above.  Irresistibly  attracted  by  the 
landscape  which  is  spread  out  before  us,  we  forget  the  ruins  be- 
neath our  feet.  Directly  in  front  of  us,  toward  the  Tiber,  is  the 
Av'entine,  now  the  most  deserted  of  all  the  hills,  being  occupied  by 
monasteries  and  vineyards  only ;  and,  although  it  has  no  stately 
palaces  and  magnificent  churches,  the  eye  rests  with  satisfaction  on 
its  many  green  gardens.  Far  toward  the  south  stretches  the  for- 
saken Campa'gna,  travered  by  the  Via  Ap'pia,  with  its  ruins  and 
tombs. 

One  must  see  it  to  feel  its  attractiveness  To  me  it  appears, 
with  its  monuments  and  half-broken  down  arches  of  ancient 
aqueducts,  like  the  lonely  potters-field.  No  matter  how  warm 
the  sun  shines  down  upon  it,  how  clear  and  blue  the  sky  above 
it,  it  always  retains  its  melancholy  hues  ;  only  a  sad  halo  is  diffused 
over  it.  How  gayly  the  Alban  hills  rise  up  in  the  distance,  and  how 
charmingly  the  villages  and  towns  nestle  on  their  slopes. 

"  Alba,  thou  findest  me  still,  and,  Alba,  thou  findest  me  ever, 

Now  from  the  Capitol  steps,  now  over  Titus's  Arch, 
Here  from  the  large  grassy  spaces  that  spread  from  the  Lat'eran  portal, 

Towering  o'er  aqueduct  lines  lost  in  perspective  between. 
Or  from  a  Vat'ican  window,  or  bridge,  or  the  high  Cfll-fse'um, 

Clear  by  the  garlanded  line  cut  of  the  Flavian  ring. 
Beautiful  can  I  not  call  thee,  and  yet  thou  hast  power  to  o'ermaster, 
Power  of  mere  beauty;  in  dreams,  Alba,  thou  hauntest  me  still." 

— A.  H.  Clough. 


68  THE  COLISEUM. 

But  above  and  beyond  the  hills  tower  up,  skirting  the  horizon, 
the  jagged,  treeless  summits  of  the  Apennines,  already  clad  in  their 
wintry  garments  of  snow. 

If  we  turn  our  eyes  back  from  this  distant  view,  they  will  rest  in 
the  near  vicinity  of  the  most  stupendous  ruin  of  Rome,  on  the 
Flavian  Amphitheatre  or  Colise'um.  The  side  toward  us  has  disap- 
peared down  to  the  first  story,  while  on  the  other  the  circles  tower 
up  one  above  the  other  to  the  highest  gallery.  From  our  position 
we  have  a  view  into  the  interior  of  the  structure.  It  rises  up  before 
us  with  its  gigantic  masonry  like  a  city  on  the  slope  of  a  hill. 

"  Arches  on  arches !  as  it  were  that  Rome, 
Collecting  the  chief  trophies  of  her  line, 
Would  build  up  all  her  triumphs  in  one  dome, 
Her  Coliseum  stands ; 

'     A  ruin — yet  that  ruin  !     From  its  mass 

Walls,  palaces,  half-cities,  have  been  reared  ; 
Yet  oft  the  enormous  skeleton  ye  pass, 

And  marvel  where  the  spoil  could  have  appeared. 
Hath  it  indeed  been  plundered,  or  but  cleared  ? 

Alas  !  developed,  opens  the  decay, 
When  the  colossal  fabric's  form  is  neared  : 

It  will  not  bear  the  brightness  of  the  day, 

^  Which  streams  too  much  on  all  years,  man,  have  reft  away." 

V  — Byron. 

"  This  vast  building  was  erected  in  A.  D.  72,  upon  the  site  of 
the  reservoir  of  Nero,  by  the  Emperor  Vespasian,  who  built  as  far 
as  the  third  row  of  arches,  the  last  two  rows  being  finished  by 
Titus  after  his  return  from  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  said 
that  12,000  captive  Jews  were  employed  in  this  work,  as  the 
Hebrews  in  building  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  external 
walls  alone  cost  a  sum  equal  to  17,000,000  francs.  It  consists  of 
four  stories,  the  first  Dor'ic,  the  second  lon'ic,  the  third  and  fourth 
Corin'thian.  Its  circumference  is  1641  feet,  its  length  287,  its 
width  182,  its  height  157."  "  The  .dedication  of  the  Coliseum 


I  Hi     FLAVIAN    VMI'lll  III  I  A  I  MI  . 


69 


afforded    to    Titus  an    opportunity  for  a    display    of    magnificence 

hitherto  unrivalled.      A  battle  of  cranes  with  dwarfs  representing 

the  pigmies  was  a  fanciful  novelty,  and  might  afford  diversion  for 

a  moment  ;    there 

were    combats    of 

gladiators,  among 

whom  women  were 

included,     though 

no    noble    matron 

was     allowed      to 

mingle  in  the  fray; 

and    the    capacity 

of  the  vast  edifice 

was  tested  by  the 

slaughter    of    five 

thousand    animals 

in  its  circuit.    The 

show  was  crowned 

with    the     immis- 

sion  of  water  into 

the      arena,      and 

with     a     sea-fight 

representing      the 

contests  of  t  h  e  Cor- 

inthians and    Cor-         ~vfi~ 

'i    *.         "- 

cyreans,  related 
by  Thucvd'fdC's." 
During  the  games 
and  shows  there  was  still  more  to  be  seen  from  this  height.  Then, 
even  early  in  the  morning,  the  people  swayed  hither  and  thither  in 
the  long  rows  of  seats  in  the  Circus  Max  itnus,  which  lay  between 
the  Palatine  and  Av'entine,  in  order  to  secure  the  best  seats;  and 
in  the  boarding-houses  and  inns  there  were  lively  scenes.  "  The 
circus  was  intended  for  chariot-races  and  horse-races,  and  is  said  to 


THE   CIRCUS   MAXIMUS. 


THE  CIRCUS.  71 

have  been  first  instituted  by  Tarquinius  Priscus,  after  his  conquest 
of  the  Latin  town  of  Apiola.  It  was  a  vast  oblong,  ending  in  a 
semi-circle,  and  surrounded  by  three  rows  of  seats,  termed  col- 
lectively cd'vea.  In  the  centre  of  the  area  was  the  low  wall  called 
the  spina,  at  each  end  of  which  were  the  mctae,  or  goals.  Between 
the  metae  were  columns  supporting  the  ova,  egg-shaped  balls,  and 
delplri'nae,  or  dolphins,  each  seven  in  number,  one  of  which  was 
put  up  for  each  circuit  made  in  the  race.  At  the  extremity  of  the 
circus  were  the  stalls  for  the  horses  and  chariots  called  car'ccrcs. 
At  one  time  this  circus  was  capable  of  containing  385,000 
persons."  It  must  have  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  a  Roman  to 
watch,  in  eager  suspense,  the  different  parties  adorned  with  their 
respective  colors,  and  to  be  able  to  follow  the  green,  blue,  red,  and 
white  charioteers  in  their  headlong  course. 

For  this  reason  Septimius  Severus  built  himself,  on  this  side  of 
the  palace,  a  spacious  lodge,  from  which  he  could  completely  sur- 
vey the  games,  j  To  this  lodge  were  joined  small  chambers,  of 
which  a  rotunda  is  particularly  noticeable.  In  the  walls  are  still 
seen  the  niches  which  were  adorned  with  statues.  Into  this  splen- 
did hall  the  emperor  may  have  retreated  with  his  friends  during 
the  intervals  to  recover  from  the  excitement  of  the  games. 

The  valley,  which  once  was  filled  with  the  eric's  and  applause 
of  a  crowd  of  anxious  spectators,  has  now  become  silent.  The 
rows  of  stone  benches  have  disappeared. 
The  place  where  once  the  car'ccrcs  con- 
fined the  restless  horses  is  now  occupied 
by  quite  a  modern  building — a  gas  factory  ! 
And  on  the  ancient  race-course  itself,  where 
once  rushed  along  the  Roman  two-horse 
chariots  (bigac]  rope-makers  are  now  with 
careful  steps  twisting  their  many-stranded 
ropes. 

Septimius  Severus  was  very  fond  of  building.  We  are  informed 
by  his  biographer,  Sparti'anus,  that,  in  addition  to  his  new  build- 


72  THE   STADIUM. 

ings,  he  restored  all  the  public  buildings  of  Rome  that  had  been 
damaged.  His  palace  he  is  said  to  have  located  on  this  side  of  the 
Palatine,  not  only  for  convenience  of  residence,  but  also  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  his  countrymen  (he  was  African)  who  might  ap- 
proach the  city  by  the  Via  Appia,  how  powerful  a  monarch  he  was. 
And  this  impression  he  strengthened  still  more  by  the  so-called 
Septizo  nium,  an  edifice  of  seven  stories,  three  of  which  remained 
till  the  time  of  Sixtus  V. 

This  singular  building  was  finished  203  A.  D.,  after  the  emperor's 
return  with  his  victorious  army  from  Asia,  where  he  probably  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  such  a  tower.  At  any  rate,  the  seven  stories 
remind  us  of  the  well-known  ruins  in  Babylon,  whose  terraces  were 
adorned  with  various  colors,  and  dedicated  to  seven  planets.  Now 
it  has  all  vanished. 

I  do  not,  however,  purpose  to  write  to  you  of  that  which  has 
been  destroyed,  but  rather  to  teach  you  to  understand  that  which 
has  survived  the  storms  of  time.  Unfortunately,  we  cannot  make 
the  circuit  of  the  whole  Palatine,  as  there  are  still  two  cloisters  on 
the  hill  whose  gates  are  closed  against  us.  Let  us  retrace  our  steps, 
therefore,  to  the  Donius  Gelotiana,  and  while  returning  cast  a  brief 
glance  at  the  Stadium. 

By  Stadium  is  meant  a  race-course,  in  which  runners,  boxers, 
and  wrestlers  exhibit  their  skill.  Athletes  originally  were  not 
admired  by  the  Romans.  The  first  were  introduced  into  Rome  in 
1 86  by  Fulvius  Nobilior.  The  gladiatorial  contests  were  better 
suited  to  the  rude  tastes  of  the  time.  But  the  more  Greek  culture 
found  its  way  into  Rome,  and  the  oftener  Roman  youths  went  to 
Greece  and  visited  the  gymnasiums  (Palaestra),  the  more  athletic 
sports  came  into  vogue.  At  first  they  were  held  in  temporary  race- 
courses or  in  the  circus.  Domitian  established  a  stone  Stadium  in 
the  Campus  Martins,  which  had  a  capacity  of  about  thirty  thousand. 
This  one  on  the  Palatine  appears  also  to  date  from  the  reign  of 
Domitian,  and,  when  we  consider  his  passionate  fondness  for  shows 
of  every  kind,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should  have  built  himself 


mi.  >i  Aitir.M.  73 

another  near  his  palace  on  the  Palatine.  At  that  time  all  young 
men  practised  the  Greek  games.  Boxing  and  vaulting  were  fash- 
ionable. It  is  a  little  singular,  to  be  sure,  that  the  two  court  poets, 
Sta'tius  and  Martial,  who  in  other  respects  could  not  sufficiently 
celebrate  the  splendors  of  their  master's  reign,  make  no  mention 
of  a  Stadium  on  the  Palatine.  Perhaps  they  expected  us  to  take 
the  existence  of  one  for  granted,  since  every  wealthy  Roman  had  a 
place  for  gymnastics  near  his  villa,  or  perhaps  Domitian  was  unable 
to  finish  it. 

You  can  yet  see  where  the  straight  line  was  where  the  athlete-- 
began  their  race,  and  the  curve  (vtf cwVv^)  which  closed  the  upper 
end  of  the  course.  The  seats  evidently  rose  in  tiers  toward  the 
walls,  but  the  plan  of  the  Stadium  itself  was  entirely  changed  by 
later  alterations.  The  larger  part  was  transformed  into  an  oval 
space  which  certainly  was  still  large  enough  for  gymnastic 
exercises,  while  the  other  part  was  turned  into  a  pillared  court. 
It  is  probable  that  the  whole  Stadium  was  arranged  rather  for 
the  private  use  of  the  imperial  family.  The  princes  took  vigorous 
exercise  in  all  sorts  of  games,  and  then  refreshed  themselves 
in  the  shady  corridors  of  the  court,  or  sought  repose  in  the  adjacent 
halls. 

Our  road  now  leads  us  up  to  the  summit  of  the  Palatine,  where 
there  was  formerly,  as  has  been  already  stated,  a  valley.  Domitian, 
no  longer  satisfied  with  the  old  palace,  wished  to  prepare  himself  a 
site  for  a  new  one,  and  so  filled  up  the  hollow  between  the  hills, 
thus  obtaining  a  large  level  surface  for  his  palace,  the  private  houses 
being  torn  down  and  used  as  foundations  for  the  new  building. 
Several  of  these  old  subterranean  walls,  with  traces  of  their  former 
adornment,  may  still  be  seen.  A  portion  of  the  Palace  of  Augustus 
also  was  destroyed  at  that  time,  for  here  must  have  been  the 
site  of  the  first  imperial  residence. 

The  house  of  Augustus's  parents  was  on  the  Palatine,  but  the 
exact  locality  (which  was  known  by  the  name  of  "Ad  Capita 
Bitbula"}  is  unknown  to  us.  Later,  Augustus  lived  near  the  forum, 


74 


STATUE  OF   AUGUSTUS. 


AUGUSTUS. 


RESIDENT  BE   OF  AUGUSTUS.  75 

in  a  bouse  which  he  had  purchased  from  the  Orator  Hortensius. 
Suetonius  tells  us  that  it  was  a  very  modest  dwelling,  having  only 
short  colonnades,  and  rooms  unadorned  either  with  marble  or  artis- 
tic mosaics.  This  simplicity  exactly  suited  the  new  occupant.  F<>r 
more  than  forty  years  he  remained  in  Rome,  both  summer  and 
winter,  although  the  climate  during  the  cooler  season  did  not  at  all. 
agree  with  him.  For  the  purpose  of  having  the  officers  of  the  gov- 
ernment at  hand,  he  purchased  several  of  the  neighboring  houses, 
and  united  them  with  his  own.  Besides  this,  he  built  a  magnificent 
temple  to  Apollo  on  that  portion  of  his  property  where  a  thunder- 
bolt had  struck.  At  the  same  time  he  established  a  Greek  and 
Latin  library. 

On  becoming  chief  priest  (Pon'tlfex  Max ' innis),  he  converted  his 
house  into  state  property,  that  he  might  remain  here  as  high  priest  ; 
for  he  was  not  willing  to  remove  to  the  residence  set  apart  by  the 
state  for  the  Pontifex,  the  Rcgia,  because  he  was  striving  to  turn 
away  the  attention  of  the  people  from  the  Forum  of  the  Republic 
to  the  hill  of  the  emperor.  The  outline  of  his  house  has  been 
traced  from  the  foundation  walls,  which  were  discovered  during  the 
restoration  of  the  French  nunnery.  But  from  the  drawings  alone  it 
is  impossible  to  indicate  the  purposes  of  the  several  apartments, 
the  ruins  themselves  being  no  longer  accessible. 

Not  far  from  the  house  of  Augustus  (Domus  Au' gust  a  110),  ac- 
cording to  ancient  descriptions,  was  that  of  Tiberius  (Downs  Ti- 
bcriand)\  the  site  of  this  is  also  for  the  most  part  covered  by 
modern  buildings,  the  gloomy  walls  being  concealed  by  charming 
gardens  with  blooming  rose-hedges.  Only  that  side  of  the  palace 
toward  the  Circus  has  been  laid  bare. 

Tiberius  also  was  born  on  the  Palatine,  probably  in  the  small 
house  immediately  behind  the  palace.  This  is  the  so-called  house 
of  Livia.  It  is  especially  celebrated  on  account  of  its  well-pre- 
served wall  paintings,  and  has  the  arrangements  of  a  Roman  pri- 
vate house.  Behind  the  "  front  room,"  the  atrium,  we  enter  the 
tdb'linum,  which  is  flanked  on  both  sides  by  small  chambers,  the  so- 


76 


DOMUS   TIBER!  AN  A. 


called  a  lac.  The  south  side  is  occupied  by  a  richly  decorated  space 
that  may  have  served  as  a  dining  hall  (triclin'ium),  while  the  eastern 
part  was  used  for  domestic  purposes.  It  is  noticeable  that  there  is 

a  descent  from  the  entrance 
hall,  the  vestib'ulum,  into  the 
a  'tr turn, but  it  is  not  probable 
that  this  was  so  originally. 
The  surroundings  of  the 
house  must  have  changed 
through  the  elevation  of  the 
ground  by  modern  build- 
ings. 

As  Tiberius  built  his  pal- 
ace beside  his  father's,  he 
was  loth  to  tear  the  latter 
down,  but  rather  preserved 
the  low-lying,  modest  dwell- 
ing as  best  he  could,  and 
gave  it  to  his  mother  Livia 
as  a  "  widow's  portion." 
Later,  the  residence  passed 
into  the  possession  of  the 
family  of  German'icus. 

Tiberius  himself  lived  in 
the  new  palace,  opposite  to 

the  old  palace  of  Augustus.  It  had  an  unobstructed  view  of  the 
Forum  and  the  Capitol.  Nothing  is  known  of  its  interior.  On  the 
side  toward  the  house  of  Livia,  a  row  of  arched  chambers  has  been 
excavated,  whose  walls  were  defaced  and  more  or  less  scribbled  over. 
The  import  of  the  words  and  drawings  makes  it  probable  that  this 
was  the  station-house  for  the  palace  guards. 

The  great  fire  in  the  reign  of  Nero  made  fearful  havoc  in  this 
region,  the  Tenth  Ward  of  the  city,  to  which  the  Palatine  be- 
longed. Part  of  the  walls  naturallv  remained  standing,  and  so  the 


INIKKIMK    or    A    ROMAN    H<>1   SE 


77 


GALBA'S  RESIDENCE  AND  DEATH. 


royal  palace  (palatitim)  could  be  restored  in  a  short  time.  Gal'ba 
afterward  lived  in  the  palatium,  and  with  him  three  of  the  most 
influential  men  of  Rome — Titus  Vm'ius,  Cornelius  La'go,  and 

the  freedman    Icfelus  — 
whom   the  people  jest- 
ingly   called    the     em- 
peror's tutors. 

The  Emperor  Galba 
was  to  have  been  mur- 
dered in  his  own  house, 
and  yet  Otho  feared  the 
watchfulness  of  the 
body-guards  ;  so,  on  the 
day  on  which  he  in- 
tended, with  the  aid  of 
the  dissatisfied  praeto- 
rians, to  execute  the 
coup  d'etat,  he  had  the 
false  report  spread  that 
the  disorders  in  the 
camps  were  over,  and 
he  himself  killed.  Hav- 
ing thus  induced  the 
GALBA-  credulous  Galba  to  go 

down  to  the  forum  without  trustworthy  protection,  he  had  him 
surprised  and  killed. 

Otho  himself  had  affectionately  greeted  the  emperor  in  the 
morning,  and  had  then,  as  Tacitus  says,  under  the  pretense  of 
having,  with  several  experts,  to  look  at  a  house  offered  for  sale, 
hastened  away  "through  the  Palace  of  Tiberius  into  the  Velabrum, 
thence  to  the  Golden  Milestone  by  the  Temple  of  Saturn" — (" per 
Domum  Tiberianam  in  Velabrum,  inde  ad  milliarium  aureum  sub 
Aedem  Saturni"}  Suetonius  affirms  that  he  made  his  way  through 
the  rear  portion  of  the  palatium.  From  a  comparison  of  these  two 


OTHO   AND  VITELLIUS. 


79 


passages,  it  is  seen  that  the  Palace  of  Augustus  at  that  time  was 
still  used  as  the  principal  place  of  assembly  for  the  Senate,  and  that 
the  Palace  of  Tiberius  was  looked  upon  rather  as 
the  private  residence  of  the  emperor. 

The  first  state  paper  which  the  new  Emperor 
Otho  signed  was  an  appropriation  of  about  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  for  the  completion  of  Nero's 
Palace,  which  stretched  from  the  Palatine  to  the  <>TH<>. 

Esquiline.  But  the  ninety-five  days  of  his  reign  did  not  suffice  to 
finish  this  golden  palace.  The  reign  of  Vitellius,  also,  was  too 
short  for  that  purpose.  Vespasian's  army  entered  Rome  too  soon. 

Vitellius,  who,  in  his  perplexity,  was  entirely 
dependent  on  the  caprice  of  his  soldiers, 
took  no  part  in  the  storming  of  the  Capitol, 
but  calmly  surveyed  the  exciting  contest  and 
the  conflagration  from  the  Palace  of  Tiberius, 
in  which  he  was  feasting  at  the  time. 

The  Flavian  emperors  carried  the  exces- 
sively extended  Palace  of  Nero  no  further. 
As  a  favor  to  the  pleasure-loving  people, 
they  erected  the  colossal  •  amphitheatre, 
which  has  been  named  after  them,  in  a  hollow  between  the  Palatine, 
Caelian,  and  Esquiline  Hills.  Vespasian  appears  not  to  have  had 
much  admiration  for  the  Palatine,  and  did  not  live  there,  but  in 
the  gardens  of  Sallust,  near  the  Pincian  and  Quiri'nal. 

In  the  reign  of  Titus  another  fire  broke  out,  which  considerably 
injured  the  Capitol.  Titus  considered  it  his  first  duty  to  repair 
these  new  damages,  and  to  give  every  assistance  in  his  power  to 
the  unfortunate  cities  of  Campania.  Domitian  was  the  first  to 
build  a  new  palace  for  his  family.  He  was  far  from  desirous  of 
restoring  the  Palace  of  the  odious  Caligula,  and  preferring  to  liye 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Palace  of  Augustus,  he  built  a  new  palace  on 
the  level  ground,  made  by  filling  up  the  hollow,  as  has  already 
been  mentioned.  Although  this  palace  was  not  of  so  gigantic 


VITELLIUS. 


8o 


HOW    DOMITIAN    BUILT    HIS    PALACE. 


proportions   as   that    of    Nero,    it    was   scarcely    inferior   to    it    in 
splendor. 

This  is  the  only  palace  on  the  Palatine  whose  interior  arrange- 
ments are  still  easily  traceable.  On  the  side  toward  the  forum 
there  was  a  broad  stairway,  but  all  traces  of  this  are  lost  in  the  ter- 
raced ground.  The  vestibule  is  not  a  narrow  passage,  like  that  in 
the  house  of  Livia,  but  a  broad  landing-place,  where  the  stairway 
began.  Here  the  degenerate  Romans  waited  until  their  "  Jupiter  " 
saw  fit  to  give  them  an  audience.  As  the  troops  of  clients  in 
ancient  times  assembled  at  the  atrium  of  their  "patron"  to  greet 
him  and  accompany  him  to  his  business  in  the  forum,  so  now  the 
nobles  wait  at  the  door  of  the  Palatium  for  permission  from  the 
dread  tyrant  to  enter.  All  the  events  of  the  day  have  been  dis- 
cussed ;  the  rich  material  for  conversation  afforded  by  the  new 
plays  introduced  by  the  emperor,  has  long 
since  been  exhausted  ;  every  outbreak  of 
ill-humor  on  the  part  of  the  master  has  been 
traced  to  its  source;  when,  finally,  the  large 
doors  of  the  reception  hall  are  thrown  open, 
and  a  troop  of  servants,  dressed  in  white, 
step  forth  upon  the  threshold  to  survey, 
with  grim  faces,  the  waiting  crowd.  For 
not  every  one  is  admitted  to  the  presence 
of  the  emperor.  It  costs  the  less-esteemed 
knight  much  trouble  and  many  a  denarius  before  he  can  surmount 
every  obstacle. 

To-day  he  has  been  fortunate  enough,  for  the  first  time,  to  enter 
these  halls.  He  is  dazzled  by  the  splendor.  It  surpasses  all  his 
expectations.  He  has  scarcely  the  courage  to  step  over  the  thresh- 
old, which  consists  of  an  immense  block  of  Grecian  marble;  but 
one  glance  into  the  interior  tells  him  that  he  cannot  begin  to 
examine  everything  in  detail  ;  there  is  too  much  of  beauty  to  be 
seen.  He  is  most  pleased  with  the  pillars  of  Phrygian  and  Numidian 
marble,  with  which  the  walls  are  adorned.  The  bases,  and  espec- 


A   RECEPTION    AT    DOMITIAN'S.  8 1 

ially  the  capitals,  are  so  elaborately  carved  and  so  rich  in  their 
forms  that  they  appear  to  him  much  more  beautiful  than  the  simple 
ones  of  the  ancient  temples.  Behind  the  portico  the  walls  are 
relieved  by  niches,  from  which  gods  and  heroes  look  down  on  the 
actions  of  feeble  mortals. 

But  our  knight,  at  present,  does  not  desire  to  admire  Hercules 
and  Bacchus  and  the  rest  of  the  statues ;  he  wants,  above  all,  to  see 
him  whom  the  poets  have  compared  to  the  father  of  the  gods.  Yon- 
der, on  his  lofty  seat,  he  sits  enthroned,  opposite  the  entrance,  proud 
and  gloomy,  looking  down  upon  those  approaching  to  greet  him. 

Long  time  had  our  ambitious  knight  to  possess  his  soul  in 
patience  before  the  doors  of  this  hall  of  the  gods  were  thrown  open 
to  him  ;  and  now,  instead  of  Jupiter,  he  verily  thinks  he  sees  before 
him  the  gods  of  the  lower  world.  Timidly  he  drops  his  eyes  in  the 
presence  of  the  angry  and  suspicious,  glance  of  Domitian.  From 
the  chamber  on  the  left  comes  forth  the  fragrance  of  incense  which 
had  been  burned  yonder  on  the  small  altar  to  the  genius  of  the 
emperor.  Did  the  tyrant  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  these  honors  have 
some  conception  of  his  human  weakness  ?  Was  it  on  that  account 
that  his  forehead  was  clouded,  his  lips  compressed?  The  knight 
knew  not,  but  he  felt  that  here  every  movement,  every  look,  might 
furnish  an  occasion  for  speedy  death.  The  floor  with  the  costly 
marble  begins  to  burn  under  his  feet,  and  he  notices  with  terror  that 
only  a  few  individuals  approach  the  throne  to  greet  the  tyrant  with 
a  morning  kiss. 

Yet  there  are  only  a  few  who  are  deemed  worthy  of  this  honor. 
The  people  call  them  the  "  first  friends  "  of  the  emperor,  and  envy 
them  greatly.  So  our  young  Roman  previously  has  known  no 
higher  aim  in  life  than  to  be  counted  among  this  first  class  of  the 
"friends"  ("atnici"),  but  to-day  he  can  do  very  well  without  that 
happiness ;  the  imperial  kiss  had  no  longer  any  charm  for  him.  He 
hastens  down  the  stairs  of  the  palace  as  if  awakened  from  a  night- 
mare, and  wishes  in  his  inmost  soul  that  he  had  never  felt  the  ambi- 
tion to  bid  the  emperor  good  morning. 


82 


A   ROMAN   GARDEN    SCENE. 


THE   EMPEROR'S   COURT.  83 

Meanwhile  his  companions  rush  upon  him  with  most  eager  and 
curious  questions:  "  In  what  kind  of  a  mood  was  he?"  "  What  did 
the  haruspices  announce?"  "Whom  did  he  salute  with  a  kiss?" 
"  What  expression  did  his  face  assume  when  your  name  was 
announced?"  Although  at  that  moment  it  had  become  so  dark  to 
the  eyes  of  the  knight  that  he  did  not  notice  anything  around  him, 
he  nevertheless  answered  very  explicitly  all  these  and  other  questions 
of  his  eager  friends,  and  felt  his  own  importance  immensely.  When 
they  reached  the  forum  he  had  forgotten  the  anguish  he  had  under- 
gone, and  even  believed  that  he  should  soon  become  one  of  the 
most  favored  of  friends. 

After  the  tedious  morning  solemnities  the  emperor  went  to  the 
court-room  (c),  which  was  on  the  right  of  the  aula  regia.  Along 
both  sides  of  the  interior  were  columns,  whilst  the  space  opposite 
the  door  was  used  as  a  rostrum.  With  its  mosaic  floor  it  is  as  well 
preserved  as  if  the  emperor,  supported  by  his  wily  counsellors,  had 
decided  here  only  yesterday  the  most  important  cases.  There  is 
also  seen  quite  a  good  part  of  the  pretty  marble  barriers  which 
barely  separated  the  seats  of  the  jurors  from  the  place  occupied  by 
the  people.  "  The  appeals  from  the  provinces  in  civil  causes  were 
heard,  not  by  the  emperor  himself,  but  by  his  delegates,  who  were 
persons  of  rank ;  Augustus  had  appointed  one  such  delegate  to  hear 
appeals  from  each  province  respectively.  But  criminal  appeals 
appear  generally  to  have  been  heard  by  the  emperor  in  person, 
assisted  by  his  council  of  assessors.  Tiberius  and  Claudius  had 
usually  sat  for  this  purpose  in  the  forum  ;  but  Nero,  after  the  exam-  X/ 
pie  of  Augustus,  heard  these  causes  in  the  imperial  palace." 

In  the  private  homes  of  the  Romans,  the  so-called  fauces  united 
the  front  part  of  the  house  with  the  peristylium  and  the  garden. 
But  as  such  narrow  passages  were  not  used  in  palaces,  Domitian  had 
constructed  upon  both  sides  broad  halls  that  grew  to  the  size  of 
rooms  (d).  Here  the  servants  were  permitted  to  stay.  They  might 
also  have  been  used  for  the  keeping  of  many  utensils  which  were 
indispensable  for  the  cleaning  of  the  halls.  From  the  passage  one 


84 


NERO. 


entered  the  court-yard  (e),  which  took  in  a  space  of  3,000  square 
metres.  The  floor  was  cleared,  and  we  can  conclude  from  the  relics 
found  there  that  costly  marble  columns  had  formed,  in  the  interior, 
a  sort  of  passage,  which  gave  a  cooling  shade  to  the  lord  and  his 
aristocratic  guests. 

Just  as  the  aula  regia  and  the  adjacent  rooms  were  devoted  to 
serious  business,  so  were  the  spaces  into  which  we  just  entered 
reserved  for  the  guests  invited  to  the  imperial  table.  The  guests, 
adorned  in  festive  togas,  were  carried  in  their  sedan-chairs  to  the 


A  VISIT  TO  DOMITIAN'S  TRICLINIUM.  85 

side  entrance  of  the  palace  and  hastened,  full  of  expectation,  up  the 
few  steps  which  led  them  immediately  to  the  octagonal  reception 
room  (f).  There  they  greeted  their  friends  and  looked  critically 
at  the  new-comers,  who  gazed  with  embarrassed  looks  at  the  mosaic 
floor  and  the  ornaments  on  the  walls.  Old  acquaintances  were  soon 
in  eager  conversation  and  withdrew  mysteriously  into  the  smaller 
apartments  which  joined  the  ante-room  upon  both  sides. 

At  last  the  servants  called  the  guests  to  the  repast,  and  from  all 
sides  these  thronged  to  the  dining-room,  from  the  lofty  doors  of 
which  the  curtains  had  been  drawn  back.  Their  eyes,  which  had 
already  become  weary  in  admiring  all  the  treasures,  were  now  in 
danger  of  being  fairly  dazzled  on  account  of  the  splendor  which  met 
their  gaze  from,  the  gilded  ceiling,  the  lofty  granite  columns,  the 
artistically  patterned  mosaic  floor.  They  almost  believed  they  had 
entered  the  home  of  a  Ml'das,  and  only  feared  that  golden  refresh- 
ments were  awaiting  them.  But  when  the  festive  throng  of  visitors 
had,  at  the  nod  of  the  emperor,  sat  down  at  a  thousand  tables,  then 
entered  in  long  procession  the  servants,  carrying  food  and  wines,  of 
such  exquisite  kind  that  it  seemed  as  if  Ce'res  and  Bacchus  them- 
selves had  come  as  waiters  to  the  guests. 

The  host  himself,  in  genial  humor,  arrayed  in  purple  garments, 
smiled  graciously  down  upon  his  company.  At  least  it  so  appeared 
to  the  poet  Statius,  who  had  been  invited  to  the  imperial  table,  and 
related  to  us  afterward  what  happened  there.  He  cannot  praise 
enough  the  serene  peace  and  majesty  which  overspread  the  counte- 
nance of  the  ruler,  and  feels  like  one  enchanted  at  being  permitted 
to  feast  at  table  in  presence  of  the  all-powerful  one ;  indeed,  he 
imagines  himself  resting  with  Jupiter  among  the  stars.  Were  the 
other  guests  equally  delighted?  Did  they  also  gaze  transfigured 
upon  the  emperor? 

Statius  tells  us  nothing  of  this,  for  he  speaks  only  of  the  most 
important  personages  present ;  that  is,  of  Domitian  and  himself. 
Encouraged  by  the  affability  of  the  emperor,  he  must  have  ap- 
proached after  the  repast  the  imperial  couch  to  utter  his  thanks  for 


86 


STATIUS   AND    HIS   POEM. 


the  invitation,  in  good  wishes  that  a  life  without  end  and  a  power 
without  limit  might  be  bestowed  upon  the  gracious  lord  by  the 
gods.  Then,  proud  of  his  artistic  phrases,  he  hastens  home  and 
pours  out  his  enthusiasm  in  a  poem  which  he  means,  at  a  later  time, 
to  present  to  the  emperor. 

Not  all  the  guests  were  in  such  haste.  Many  were  still  feasting 
at  the  table,  though  Domitian  had  already  retired  ;  they  would  have 
so  much  liked  to  learn  the  secrets  of  the  Court  in  a  confidential  con- 
versation with  the  servants  who  could  be  bribed.  Others  withdrew 


THE  GARDEN. 


to  the  apartment  which  joins  the  dining-hall  on  the  right  (h).  Here 
bubbled  a  merry  fountain,  which  poured  its  waters  into  an  oval 
marble  basin.  Four  little  niches  are  still  seen  in  this  basin,  from 
which,  no  doubt,  some 
little  Cupids  roguishly 
smiled  down  into  the 
mirror-like  waters.  Round 
about  the  fountain  were 
flowers  of  glowing  colors 
in  bloom,  and  out  from 
the  green  foliage  and  rosy 
leaves  looked  forth  Eros 
to  overlook  triumphantly 
his  little  kingdom.  .  Now 
no  longer  does  the  gar- 
dener tend  this  bed,  but 
luxuriant  plants  come  up 
spontaneously  and  adorn 
with  their  fresh  foliage 
this  spot  which  seems 
like  a  little  boat  afloat  in 
the  basin.  In  no  room  of  • 
the  lofty  palace  can  one 
feel  so  comfortable  as 
in  this  abode  of  the 
nymphs. 

Yet  we  might,  per- 
haps, have  felt  different 
if,  in  company  with  the 
aristocratic  Romans,  we  had  entered  this  alabaster  hall  from  the 
banquet  of  the  imperial  table.  Some  of  them  stagger  in,  intoxicated 
with  wine  and  pleasure,  whilst  others  sit  down  quietly  by  the  waters 
to  cool  their  hot  cheeks.  One  sees  in  their  restless  eyes  that  some- 
thing torments  them,  that  they  fear  to  have  offended  the  emperor 


A  FOUNTAIN  (CUPID  AND  THE  GOOSE). 


88  NOT  ALL  SO   WELL  TREATED   AS  STATIUS. 

by  a  thoughtless  word  or  an  unguarded  look.  For  Domitian  was 
not  always  in  good  humor  at  table,  nor  could  all  enjoy  his  glances 
as  harmlessly  as  did  Statius.  Those  occupying  an  important  posi- 
tion in  the  state  were,  indeed,  obliged  to  be  on  their  guard. 

The  emperor  paid  attention  to  all  present,  and  often  used  the 
time  of  the  repast  to  watch  his  invited  guests.  Then  he  had  dined 
himself  before  their  arrival,  and  lay  at  table  on  the  triclinium  only 
to  see  how  his  quirites  would  act  under  the  influence  of  his  wines. 
If  the  banquet  were  too  long  or  the  company  too  careful  in 
behavior  (!),  then  he  had  the  different  courses  served  in  such  haste 
that  the  food  was  rather  thrown  than  placed  before  the  guests. 

Still  worse  did  he  once  treat  his  tormented  courtiers.  The  hall, 
formerly  so  full  of  splendor,  had  been  draped  in  black.  Near  every 
plate  was  placed  a  candle,  such  as  is  used  in  the  last  services  for  the 
dead,  and  upon  a  black  tablet  was  written  the  name  of  the  guest. 
The  servants  were  clothed  in  black  and  served  the  guests,  frightened 
to  death,  with  food  in  black  utensils.  You  can  imagine  in  what  a 
state  of  mind  the  Senators  and  first  men  in  the  state  returned  to 
their  homes,  and  how  astonished  they  were  at  soon  after  receiving 
costly  gifts  from  the  emperor,  which  were  to  make  amends  to  them 
for  the  distress  which  they  had  suffered. 

Such  jests  Domitian  permitted  himself  at  the  time  when  there 
were  no  traces  left  of  the  mild  disposition  and  the  abstemiousness 
he  had  here  and  there  shown  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  whilst 
now  he  was  bent  only  upon  satisfying  his  wild  passions,  and  show- 
ing his  boundless  disdain  for  the  upper  classes  among  his  people. 
The  punishment  was  not  long  in  coming.  Soon  he  no  longer 
felt  any  security ;  wherever  he  might  be,  he  imagined  himself 
pursued  by  an  assassin  ;  he  started  at  the  slightest  noise  behind 
him. 

It  no  longer  sufficed  that  armed  guards  lay  in  wait  upon  the 
palace  stairs,  that  his  chamberlains  assured  him  that  he  might  be 
without  anxiety.  He  wanted  always  to  be  able  to  overlook  the 
whole  open  court  (peristylimri),  in  which  'he  used  to  take  his  walk, 


DOMITIAN'S  REWARD.  89 

and  therefore  he  had  the  walls  of  the  portico  (porticus)  covered  with 
slabs  of  marble  which  shone  so  brightly  that  whatever  happened 
behind  him  was  reflected  by  it  as  by  a  mirror.  Thus  were  these 
apartments  and  halls,  in  which  formerly  finely  dressed  guests  feasted 
at  the  most  luxurious  table  in  Rome,  changed  into  a  lonely  prison, 
or  (to  use  the  words  of  the  younger  Pliny)  "  a  fierce  lair,  whither 
he  was  being  driven  by  terror  and  haughtiness  and  the  hate  of 
men" — (saevi  secessus,  in  quos  timore  et  superbia  et  odio  hominum 
agebatur), 

Between  the  rear  of  the  Flavian  Palace  and  the  southern  limit 
of  the  mountain  lies  still  a  pretty  large  space,  which  is  bounded  on 
the  east  by  small  porticos  and  two  large  halls.  These  open  spaces 
did  not,  to  be  sure,  belong  immediately  to 
the  imperial  palace  of  Domitian,  but  must 
have  had  some  connection  with  it.  When 
they  were  discovered,  they  were  ^called 
"  Library  "  and  "  Academy,"  and  they  still 
bear  these  names,  although  one  could  not 
prove  the  justice  of  these  appellations. 
Both  apartments  have  an  entrance  from 
the  west.  The  rear  walls  were  occupied 
by  semi-circular  alcoves.  In  one  of  them  DOMITIAN. 

we  can  still  see  the  row  of  seats  erected  around  the  walls.  We 
can  easily  imagine  that  here  the  court  poets  and  those  who  aspired 
to  be  so,  presented  their  poems  before  a  chosen  public.  Graciously 
accepted  poems  were  then  perhaps  placed  in  the  Library  Building, 
near  by,  to  find  rest  there  forever  more. 

The  savants  could  walk  into  the  porticos,  and  sometimes,  in  the 
fresh  air,  carry  on  their  learned  discussions,  if  by  chance  it  had 
become  too  sultry  for  them  in  the  interior.  Perhaps  the  colonnade, 
lined  by  columns,  led  to  the  ornamental  garden  grounds  of  the 
emperor,  the  so-called  " Adonea"  which  must  have  been  laid  out 
here  toward  the  east.  Some  have  even  supposed  that  these  spaces 
belonged  to  a  large  building  for  warm  baths,  which  extended  as 


LIBRARY   AND   ACADEMY. 


VIEW    ON    THE    PALATINE. 


far  as  the  Stadium.  Yet  we  cannot  give  proof  of  this  statement 
until  the  space  between  the  Flavian  Palace  and  the  Stadium  has 
been  carefully  explored. 

The  lecture-room  has  a  very  fine  position  at  the  edge  of  the 
hill  top,  and  from  its  windows  one  enjoys  a  wonderful  view,  which 
perhaps  occupied  the  thoughts  of  the  listening  Romans  more  than 
the  tedious  verses  of  the  endless  heroic  poems  recited  there.  Upon 
the  plain  below  the  hall  one  was  always  sure  to  find  acquaintances, 
for  everybody  was  glad  to  go  to  the  palatium  to  hear  something 
new.  And  very  often  the  conversation  there  was  so  entertaining 
that  it  was  easy  to  forget  for  what  purpose  one  had  come,  and  has- 
tening, with  quick  steps,  into  the  auditorium,  he  heard  only  the  last 
of  the  exquisite  (!)  verses  which  the  poet  was  reciting  in  a  hoarse 
voice  to  the  audience. 


TEMPLES  OF  JUPITER  VICTOR  AND  JUPITER  STATOR.  91 

After  having  had  this  enjoyment  one  might  visit  one  of  the  Pal- 
atine temples.  The  next  on  this  side  is  that  of  Jupiter  Victor, 
which  Fabius  vowed  during  the  battle  at  Sentinum  when  the  vic- 
tory was  almost  in  the  hands  of  the  Samnites.  The  substructure  of 
the  great  temple  is  still  in  existence,  and  also  the  long  stairs  that 
led  up  to  it  have  been  replaced,  but  of  the  cella  itself  and  the  col- 
umns nothing  more  is  seen. 

At  a  much  earlier  date  had  been  built  a  sanctuary  to  the  highest 
divinity  of  the  state,  in  front  of  the  oldest  Palatine  street.  This 
temple  also  was  vowed  to  the  gods  in  the  distress  of  battle.  When 
the  Samnites,  with  their  brave  leader,  Mettius  Curtius,  at  their 
head,  had  driven  the  Romans  over  the  forum  and  had  pursued 
them  up  the  hill  road  as  far  as  the  old  gate  of  the  Palatium,  then 
Romulus  raised  his  sword  toward  heaven  and  reminded  Jupiter  that 
those  were  his  birds  by  whose  counsel  he  had  founded  a  city  here ; 
would  that  he  might  now  be  pleased  to  keep  the  enemy  away,  at 
least  from  this  hill,  and  to  remove  all  fear  from  the  Romans  and 
thus  interrupt  the  disgraceful  flight,  "  Here  I  vow  to  thee,  Jupiter 
Stator,  a  temple,  to  be  a  memorial  for  future  generations  how 
through  thy  timely  interference  the  city  was  rescued." 

In  the  certainty  that  his  prayer  had  been  heard  and  accepted  he 
turned  towards  his  soldiers  and  called  :  "  Here,  Romans,  Jupiter, 
greatest  and  best,  commands  us  to  stand  and  renew  the  battle," 
("  Hinc  Romani,  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  resistere  atque  iterare 
pugnam  iubet"}  and  the  ranks  ceased  to  flee.  Romulus  rushed  to 
the  front,  the  combat  began  anew  and  ended  in  the  victory  of  the 
Romans,  trusting  in  their  God.  Jupiter  Stator  received  this 
promised  temple. 

M.  Attilius  Regulus  extended  this  building,  in  fulfilment  of  a 
vow  made  before  Luce'ria  in  the  great  battle  against  the  Samnites, 
295  B.  C.  Still  at  the  present  day  do  these  ruins  left  of  the  restora- 
tions of  the  temples  in  later  republican  times  remind  us  how  much 
the  Romans  cared  for  these  sanctuaries,  and  how  much  even  the 
most  frivolous  emperors  embellished  them.  Before  this  temple  the 


92  THE  SUBTERRANEAN    PASSAGE. 

equestrian  statue  of  Cloelia  was  erected,  so  that  every  one  entering 
the  gate  near  by  would  be  reminded  of  the  Romans'  strength  and 
of  the  bravery  of  the  Roman  maiden. 

Of  the  high  gate  nothing  more  is  seen  unless  perhaps  a  ruin  of 
these  imperial  times  marks  the  place  of  the  ancient  gate  in  front  of 
this  temple.  It  was  the  Porta  Mugoma,  which  was  so  called  because 
it  re-echoed  the  lowing  of  the  cattle,  which  the  oldest  inhabitants  of 
the  mountains  drove  through  these  gates  to  pasture. 

From  here  we  need  to  take  only  a  few  steps  to  return  to  the 
place  where  we  began  our  journey.  But  I  should  like  to  take  you 
at  least  a  little  distance  under  the  surface  of  the  mountain.  An 
easy  stairway  leads  us  from  the  interior  of  the  Flavian  Palace  to  a 
subterranean  passage,  which  is  paved  with  rude  mosaics ;  the  tint 
of  the  walls  is  yet  preserved.  This  corridor  was  very  practically 
contrived  between  the  State  Palace  of  Domitian  and  the  house  of 
Tiberius,  that  through  it  the  emperors  might  pass  to  their  public 
offices  and  work  without  encountering  the  curious  multitude,  stand- 
ing at  any  time  of  the  day  upon  the  open  square  between  the 
palaces.  This  short  passage  intersects  another  passage,  which  runs 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  east  side  of  the  pleasure  grounds  of 
Tiberius  and  Caligula. 

Indeed,  if  we  follow  the  subterranean  passage  farther  toward 
the  south,  we  can  penetrate  into  the  very  interior  of  the  mountain. 
We  come  then  to  large  caves,  whence  the  material  for  the  most 
ancient  buildings  was  hewn.  But  we  will  not  stay  long,  for  it  is 
fearfully  dark  and  very  damp  in  these  excavations,  aside  from  the 
fact  that  the  gray,  crumbling  wall  can  hardly  be  of  any  interest  to 
you.  We  hasten  back,  therefore,  to  the  lighter  parts  of  the 
passage,  and  shall  see  that  such  a  covered  passage,  lighted  only  at 
intervals  from  the  ceiling,  must  have  been  a  very  agreeable  place  in 
the  hot  summer  days. 

On  the  day  of  Caligula's  death,  a  band  of  Oriental  boys,  enticed 
hither  by  the  cool  air  of  the  place,  must  have  practiced  here  their 
war-dances,  in  which  they  wished  to  excel  in  the  Palatian  games. 


DEATH    OF    CALIGULA. 


93 


For  this  festival,  as  was  customary,  a  theatre  was  erected  near  the 
northern  foot  of  the  Palatine  and  near  the  head  of  the  Via  Sacra, 
although  during  the  preceding  night  the  emperor  had  a  bad  dream 
— he  saw  himself  standing  near  the  throne  of  Jupiter,  but  was 
kicked  to  the  ground  by  the  god — yet  he  went  nevertheless  to  the 
games,  and  even  at  one  o'clock  at  noon,  he  felt  no  desire  to  rise  for 
breakfast. 

Only  by  the  persuasion  of  his  friends  was  he  induced  to  leave 
the  house,  but  did  not  follow  his  uncle  Claudius  or  the  guards 
through  the  entrance  of  the  palace,  but  entered  the  crypta  near  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  to  see  how  those  boys  were  doing  their  exercises. 


The  conspirators  used  this  favorable  opportunity  to  surprise  the 
hated  tyrant.     Charea,  the  most  influential  among  them,  asked  the 


94  HAWTHORNE  ON   ROME. 

emperor  to  give  the  password.  But  as  the  latter  gave  him  an 
insulting  answer,  he  rushed  upon  him  and  thrust  his  sword  deep 
into  his  shoulder.  Groaning  with  pain,  Caligula  tried  to  escape, 
but  another  of  the  confederates  named  Cornelius  Sabl'nus  stepped 
up  to  him  and  felled  him  to  the  ground.  Then  the  rest  fell  upon 
him,  encouraging  each  other  to  the  deed,  and  in  a  short  time  they 
had  killed  and  mutilated  their  master. 

At  sight  of  the  body,  bleeding  from  thirty  wounds,  they  were 
suddenly  seized  with  terror  and  anguish,  for  they  feared  the  revenge 
of  the  German  body-guard  devoted  to  the  emperor.  So  they  has- 
tened down  the  passage  as  far  as  the  house  of  Livia,  and  remained 
concealed  here  until  the  first  excitement  in  the  palace  had  passed 
over.  We  will  not  follow  them  into  the  house,  already  familiar  to 
us,  but  will  return  now  through  the  porticus  to  the  entrance,  to  rest 
from  all  we  have  seen  and  heard. 

Take  these  pages  which  I  send  you  from  the  walls  of  Rome  as 
a  greeting  which  may  spur  you  on  also  to  follow  out,  in  the  future, 
these  traces  of  antiquity.  And,  first  of  all,  I  should  be  glad, 
through  my  description,  to  interest  you  so  that  in  reading  the 
authors  you  will  think  more  of  where  that  happened  of  which  you 
are  reading.  The  authors,  who  have  lived  and  written  under  an 
Italian  sky,  are  reticent  and  shy  in  the  foreign  school-room.  But  if 
we  transfer  ourselves  with  them  to  their  home,  accompanying  them 
to  the  market  and  enter  their  families,  then  they  grow  confiding  and 
social.  And,  as  Hawthorne  says :  "  To  a  spectator  on  the  spot,  it 
is  remarkable  that  the  events  of  Roman  history,  and  of  Roman  life 
itself,  appear  not  so  distant  as  the  Gothic  ages  which  succeeded 
them.  We  stand  in  the  forum,  or  on  the  height  of  the  Capitol,  and 
seem  to  see  the  Roman  epoch  close  at  hand.  We  forget  that  a 
chasm  extends  between  it  and  ourselves,  in  which  lie  all  those  dark, 
rude,  unlettered  centuries,  around  the  birthtime  of  Christianity,  as 
well  as  the  age  of  chivalry  and  romance,  the  feudal  system,  and  the 
infancy  of  a  better  civilization  than  that  of  Rome.  Or,  if  we  re- 
member these  mediaeval  times,  they  look  further  off  than  the 


ROME    FROM   THK    I ANRT  I.f  M. 


95 


96  JOYFUL   INTERCOURSE  WITH   THE  ROMAN   WRITERS. 

Augustan  age.  The  reason  may  be  that  the  old  Roman  literature 
survives,  and  creates  for  us  an  intimacy  with  the  classic  ages,  which 
we  have  no  means  of  forming  with  the  subsequent  ones." 

Learn,  therefore,  to  understand  the  language  of  the  Romans 
thoroughly,  so  as  to  be  able  to  converse  with  them  at  ease,  and  be 
assured  that  you  will  forget  the  painful  task  of  the  grammar  in  the 
joyful  intercourse,  that  you  will  feel  a  rare  joy  if  you  at  a  later  time 
shall  be  permitted  to  greet  on  the  very  spot,  as  old  and  dear  ac- 
quaintances, these  temples  and  houses,  these  squares  and  streets, 
these  valleys  and  hills. 

"  Alas,  for  Tally's  voice,  and  Virgil's  lay, 
And  Livy's  pictured  page ! — but  these  shall  be 
Her  resurrection." 


FINIS. 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


